


Ghost

by orphan_account



Series: Series 12B: Just the Adventures [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 13 goes off, 13 holds a baby this is very important to me, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Family Feels, Found Family, Historical, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, Original alien, Pining, Roman Britain, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Torture, Unrequited Crush, alien plague, pre-tecteun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23191123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Doctor has a problem with blinking red lights - mostly that they mean something bad and that means she has to go have a look. A plague ravaging Roman Britain seems out of place at first but the more the Doctor and the fam look into it, the more they realise that something sinister is afoot.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Clara Oswald, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan (unrequited)
Series: Series 12B: Just the Adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685119
Comments: 104
Kudos: 118





	1. Prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo boy, alien plague, timed this one badly! I've not written in a very long time so I hope you guys enjoy!

“He’s not going to get better, is he?”

Aelia looked at the woman tending to her husband, her small hands shaking as her fingers rubbed together. Her eyes looked back to the man before her - his figure a shell of what it used to be: his skin shone with a layer of sweat; dark buboes covering his neck, under his arms, his chest; moans leaving his mouth as the woman moved a cold, damp cloth over his forehead in an attempt to soothe the worst of his symptoms. 

“No.” She said gently, both hands ringing out the cloth and placing it neatly over the side of a bucket, the edge of the fabric dangling ever so slightly into the water. She stood up to face Aelia, seeing the heartbreak in the woman’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” She said, and Aelia nodded, as if she understood. But no one understood what was happening - the sky had exploded and now their city was held captive by this strange pestilence. Their Gods had forsaken them - or, perhaps, they had forsaken their Gods and this was their punishment. The people were afraid, friends had turned on each other for fear of witnessing the spread of this disease to their loved ones - a kind stranger who would care for the dying with no care for themselves was a rare sight to see, what that was exactly what this woman did. The woman cleaned her hands with water and soap, drying them on a cloth separate from the rest, before moving to take Aelia’s hands reassuringly.

“Let me take you home.” She said kindly, recognising the look in Aelia’s eyes - one of weakness. She could see the fatigue, and the fight against it, and knew that it wouldn’t be long before she succumbed to the same illness as her husband. If nothing else, she wanted to find Aelia’s daughter and bring her to a place of safety. She would do her best to tend to the young woman before her symptoms became too dire, but she knew the dangers of introducing medicine to the world too soon. She had to ensure that the care she gave these people was of their time, even if that meant she couldn’t save them all. 

The looks cast to the two women in the street as they walked were of no surprise, mothers pulled their children from their path in fear of losing what they held dear to them; in fear of losing their own lives. The stench of death hung in the air, a thick miasma clinging to the walls of every building like a persistent wet fog. Aelia entered her home first, feeling her legs give way beneath her body the moment the door was shut. She no longer had to be strong and the only thing that stopped her from hitting the floor was the arms of the kind woman pulling her close despite the risk it presented to her.

“You need to rest.” She explained, and Aelia did not argue. The woman guided her through her little home, taking her upstairs and placing her on her bed as she closed her eyes. As she settled, the child began to stir, but Aelia made no fight to sit up and tend to her daughter. Her muscles seemed to relax and the woman could tell she would be asleep in a moment, regardless of the restless child. She lifted her from her crib, a hand brushing at the soft blonde locks as she pulled her close.

“Junia, your mother needs to rest.” She whispered, her lips pressing a tender kiss to the girl’s forehead before coming together to hum a quiet melody. She wandered the home with Junia, keeping a watchful eye over Aelia as she began to sleep. The girl needed to be kept at some distance from her mother, but with her father almost dead and the city afraid of what contact with this family would bring there was no one to care for her. She would take her away, to her own home, and care for her in a way that a certain man would disapprove of. 

Clara laughed to herself a little, despite the bleakness of the situation. The Doctor would have solved this by now - the plague that shouldn’t be - and he would have saved countless lives. Surely the laws of time would let her provide this one child with a little more help than she could give the others? Saving one girl, too young to remember what had been done to her, couldn’t change the world, could it? After all, the Doctor had done far more to impact history than just saving  _ one  _ person. 

Once she was certain that Aelia had fallen asleep she left the home, wandering through the straw covered streets to her own. The diner had become a beautiful cottage, complete with an open fire and a thatched roof, and Clara had become accustomed to this way of life. The TARDIS had provided her with a cradle and she lay Junia there softly, tucking the soft blankets around her to offer her comfort. Her green eyes looked at Clara curiously as she pressed a hand to the child’s forehead, checking her for the first signs of a fever before sighing. For now, she seemed unharmed, but that was certain not to last. 

“Sleep, the TARDIS will take good care of you while I’m gone.” She instructed the child, as if Junia could understand a word she was saying. “ _ I  _ will take good care of you, but this city needs me to figure out what’s happening while I can still save them. This isn’t  _ right _ .” Clara voiced, leaning to press another kiss to the girl’s forehead before offering her a light smile. “Sweet dreams, Junia. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”

# # #

“Right,  _ fam _ , where to next?” The Doctor asked, a grin on her face as she danced around the console with all the coordination of a two-left-footed badger. “We could visit the Piscis Austrinus constellation,  _ or  _ I could take you to see Betelgeuse go supernova - you lot  _ love  _ watching Betelgeuse, don’t you?” She asked, poking her head over the console to smile at her friends. Graham tucking into a pocket sandwich, Yaz standing with her hands in her pockets, Ryan looking curiously for a button to touch.

“What about that?” He asked, stretching out a finger that pointed to a red flashing light on the console. “Red flashin’ lights are never good news.” He said.

“ _ Never good news  _ sounds right up your alley, Doc.” Graham said, taking another bite of the squashed triangle of tuna and sweetcorn between two slices of brown bread.

“Excuse me,  _ that  _ sounds like I go  _ looking  _ for trouble!” She exclaimed, with Yaz laughing.

“You’re sayin’ you don’t?” She asked.

“No, I  _ don’t!  _ I just happen to be quite good at solving trouble, so the old girl takes me there.” The Doctor said, glancing down to the screen before her and gliding her finger over a few commands before the TARDIS relayed the alert to her. As she read, her eyebrows knitted closer together and Yaz took a step forward.

“Well?” She asked.

“A plague…” The Doctor said absent-mindedly, and Graham laughed.

“Right, brilliant, as if we’ve not had enough of that lately.”

“Where? And  _ when _ ?” Asked Ryan, trying to ignore Graham’s poor attempt of humour.

“Britain, 3rd century, city called Lincoln.” The Doctor explained. “But that’s  _ impossible _ , there’s not meant to be a plague then - definitely not in the middle of Roman Britain.” She frowned a little more as she read, turning to face the trio. “I’m taking you lot home. Graham’s right, you’ve had enough to worry about and the last thing I want is you three getting---”

“You  _ know  _ that doesn’t work on us.” Ryan said. “We’re stickin’ with you, like it or not.”

The Doctor paused for a moment, bottom lip pouting as if she was annoyed by their solidarity. She had to at least make them  _ think  _ she wanted to send them home and keep them safe, save them seeing the selfish side of her. 

“Right.” She said, one hand pushing her coat back and resting on her hip as she blew her hair from her face. “Allons-y?” She asked, before the grin returned to her face and she pulled the lever down. The TARDIS whirred to life, pistons shifting and systems groaning as they travelled exactly where, and when, they were needed.


	2. I.

The TARDIS doors creaked open with a familiar sound, Yaz leading the charge as she stepped out and her boots hit the cobbled path. She was followed by Ryan and Graham, then the Doctor, who closed the doors softly behind her. Her knuckles gently rapped against the door twice, before her hands clasped together behind her back and she took several long strides forward.

“Doctor, what is that  _ smell _ ?” Yaz asked, her hands covering her nose and mouth. “It’s  _ disgusting _ .”

“Well dead people don’t smell nice!” The Doctor explained, before grimacing a little. “Sorry,  _ not  _ the best way to say that, really… Roman Britain, medicine isn’t exactly their selling point and that means that, faced with a plague, a lot of people die. Happens throughout history, but it’s not supposed to happen  _ here  _ or  _ now _ .” She clarified.

“So what, are you actually gonna be a doctor now, Doc?” Graham asked. “I’m no dab-hand myself but I’ll give it a try if you want?”

“No,  _ no _ , absolutely not.” She stressed. “Because whatever’s going on here is killing these people - if it looks like a plague it could infect the three of you. I’m not risking it, at  _ least  _ not until I know what’s going on, and if I could save you.” She said. The Doctor slid between the three of them and led them on. Yaz swallowed at that word -  _ if.  _ The Doctor was such a confident woman that she hadn't considered failure up until this point, she always believed the Time Lord would get them home safely.

The road was straight and flat, rising in the distance after an arch and climbing up a small, steep hill. A merchant rode towards them, cart behind the horse full to the brim with goods to be sold. He was travelling away from the deserted marketplace, speeding through near empty streets as he fled the town.

“Run!” He cried, as he passed the Doctor and her friends. “Run far from this place, our Gods have abandoned us!” He announced. 

“He’s a charming fella.” Graham said, hands in his pockets as he looked around the streets. “Didn’t you say this was Lincoln, Doc? I’ve been here a few times, it’s usually a bit busier than this. Mind you, not a  _ Greggs  _ in sight.” 

“It’s one of the biggest cities in Roman Britain, there should be a  _ lot  _ more people here.” The Doctor agreed. She was worried they’d arrived too late, that this plague had taken hold and that the people of the city had died in droves. Through the crude glass windows she could see fearful eyes, children that had one played in the streets now confined to their homes by worried families - those that could not flee had turned to their Gods to seek forgiveness for any multitude of sins. 

“Doctor, how are we meant to find out what’s going on if people are too afraid to go outside, why would anyone trust us?” She asked.

“Well there’s only one place to start.” The Doctor replied, clasping her hands together in front of her. “With the people that have  _ bigger  _ things to be worried about.”

She gave a small smile to Yaz, meaning to reassure her that she  _ could  _ fix this, before starting to wander up the road once more. They crossed a bridge and took a right at the archway, following the road as it twisted and narrowed, the streets now used for homes rather than commerce and trade. The doors and windows seemed to shut as they walked past each house, people afraid that even making eye contact with these strangers would curse them. None of the companions knew where the Doctor was going, or if  _ she  _ even knew where she was going, but followed in her path silently. 

After a few minutes of walking they were met with the one thing the Doctor had been looking for - a house with no one cowering in fear at the windows. She stopped, looking up at the building before the silence between the four of them was broken with a loud groan, and it was short-lived before returning a second time. The Doctor knocked against the door of the building and let herself in upon discovering it was unlocked, Ryan, Yaz, and Graham following her unquestioning. 

“Hello?” She called, looking around the cramped room as she heard creaking floorboards from upstairs and footsteps descending the stairs. “Pardon me, couldn’t help but notice that someone sounded--...”

The Doctor trailed off, left completely silent and speechless as the young woman appeared before them. The change didn’t go unnoticed by her friends, the three of them staring at the Doctor expectantly.

“Y’alright?” Ryan asked, Graham raising an eyebrow as she nodded and swallowed.

“Course, sorry, I’m guessing it wasn’t you making those noises?” The Doctor asked the woman before them, who shook her head.

“Who are you?” She asked, and Yaz  _ saw  _ something change in the Doctor’s eyes. Her shoulders dropped and her stance momentarily weakened. It was barely a second, difficult to pick up, but she knew those three words from this woman had meant something to the Doctor.

“I’m the Doctor.” She explained, the lapse in strength disappearing as she answered with her usual enthusiasm and tone. “These are my friends, Yaz, Graham, and Ryan. What’s your name?”

“You’re  _ the _ doctor?” She asked hopefully. “I’m Clara,  _ a  _ doctor. I’ve been trying to take care of these people, everyone is too afraid of those that are ill to help them. I’ve never seen anything like this before, I don’t know how to make them better - could you help?”

The look on the Doctor’s face returned when Clara said she was a doctor - Graham and Ryan glancing at each other before looking at Yaz, all in agreement that  _ something  _ more was going unsaid here.

“That’s what I’m here for.” She said gently. “Lead the way, Clara.” The Doctor instructed, following the young woman upstairs into a small room. The ceiling was low and she had to hang her head to avoid walking into the wooden beams, but she found herself sat beside a sickly young woman before too long. The marks across her body were difficult to hide from - dark black buboes, sweat and dirt covering her body. The three companions kept their distance, recognising the symptoms from their knowledge of history and heeding the earlier warning from the Doctor to not get involved. They didn’t know if the Doctor simply had an abundance of confidence in solving this problem, or if her Time Lord immune system was resilient in a way that their own bodies weren’t, but she had no problem with taking the young woman’s hand in an attempt to offer comfort.

“Her name is Aelia.” Clara said, sitting beside the Doctor. “I cared for her husband, he died last week and I knew that Aelia would succumb to the same fate. I can’t cure these people, I’m trying to make their final days a little more comfortable, a little less lonely. No one else will come near them.” She explained.

“Junia…” Came a soft whisper from Aelia, the Doctor now looking to her rather than Clara.

“Her daughter.” Clara explained, knowing that Aelia was too weak to say much more. “I took her away before the husband died, she hasn’t shown any symptoms yet and I hope that means she hasn’t been exposed to this.”

The Doctor nodded, shifting a little so her back was turned to the others in the room as she leaned over Aelia’s body and brought her second hand to her cheek. The Doctor’s fingers brushed carefully over the skin, treating the young Human with as much care as she could.

“Hello.” She said quietly. “Can you hear me, Aelia? I’m the Doctor, I’m here to help.” She said, concern crossing her features as the woman made eye contact with her. “There we go.” She smiled. “I know talking is difficult, I know you don’t have much energy, but my friend Clara has taken very good care of you.” Clara swallowed, taking a step back and looking up to the three others that filled the room. They looked at her with a shared curiosity, but said nothing as the Doctor continued.

“I need to know what you know, what happened to bring this here. I need you to tell me, and I know that sounds hard, but I just need one word.” She assured, her hand moving from her cheek to her hair, fingers softly parting knots and removing matted dirt as she tried to provide Aelia with the strength she needed to think. “Just one word.  _ The truth is singular _ . Think of one word to explain everything you know, and I can sort out the rest.” 

There was silence, Aelia’s gaze looking away from the Doctor and she could feel her fading - afraid that the woman would die before she could help.

“Please Aelia, for your daughter. I may not be able to save you, but I can keep Junia safe. I’m so sorry I can’t protect you, truly, but help Junia.”

More silence, and the Doctor closed her eyes as she squeezed Aelia’s hand reassuringly. 

“Fire.” She whispered, the word hoarse and quiet. “The sky…  _ Burning _ .”

“Oh, Aelia, you are brilliant.” The Doctor assured her, smiling just a fraction before leaning over to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “You are  _ so _ brilliant, Aelia. Thank you.” She said, her hands once again cupping Aelia’s cheeks. After a moment the Doctor removed one hand, taking a cloth from the bucket beside her bed to dab gently at her forehead and provide her with some comfort. 

“She’s not going to last much longer.” Clara explained to the companions, before wandering to the Doctor’s side - her height meant she didn’t need to duck to miss the beams of the ceiling. “You really can’t save her?” She asked. 

“No, I’m sorry.” The Doctor replied, refusing to lie and provide any kind of false comfort. “I wish I could.” She said honestly. Clara sat back down by Aelia’s side, her hand moving to the cloth on her forehead. For the briefest of moments, her hand touched the Doctor’s, and she swallowed back any kind of reaction to the touch. 

“Then I need to look after her, if you don’t mind?” She said. “I won’t let her die alone or afraid - I have a duty of care to these people.”

The Doctor smiled at that phrase - because of  _ course  _ she did - and she stood up to give Clara and Aelia some space. 

“Where will I find you, Clara?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at the woman. “The market, this evening? And would you bring Junia?” She asked, and Clara nodded quietly. The Doctor decided that was their cue to leave and pushed past her companions.

“Right,  _ fam _ , we’ve got some work to do.”

# # #

“Are you gonna tell us what that was, then?” Yaz asked, her arms folded over her chest as they walked away from the house. “Who was she?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor said, hands in her pockets as she continued walking.

“Doctor, it’s  _ obvious  _ you do know her.” Ryan pointed out. “You owe us answers.”

“I don’t  _ owe  _ you anything.” The Doctor said, turning to face them swiftly. Her coat puffed out behind her and she frowned. “Don’t pretend that I do.”

For a moment there was silence, before Graham eventually spoke up. 

“You can tell us, Doc.” He said. “Whoever she is…”

“She’s  _ no one _ .” She said stubbornly.

“I don’t think that’s true.” Graham said, Yaz and Ryan nodding in agreement as they looked at the Doctor expectantly. The Doctor huffed, turning away from them in defeat.

“Clara was… A friend. But she died a very long time ago. The Clara in there, she doesn’t know me, that’s all you need to know.” She said, boots beginning to hit the stone floor as she sought to end the conversation with movement. The trio followed, but they weren’t satisfied with her answer.

“Well what are we doing now, before we meet Clara again?” Yaz asked. 

“Splitting up, I want to find out what Aelia meant when she said the sky was burning. Yaz, with me.”

“Meet by the Greggs?” Graham asked, and the Doctor pulled a face of confusion.

“Sure, meet by Greggs.” Yaz replied with a smile, turning to walk away with the Doctor in tow.

# # #

Clara sat quietly by Aelia’s side and nursed her fever as best as she could. She had wished for the Doctor to be here, but she hadn’t expected her hopes to be answered, and this new woman that she was… Clara’s mind couldn’t leave her. Her Doctor was gone, replaced with someone with new friends, a new life, no room for… For  _ her _ . She took a deep breath and looked back to Aelia. The poor woman’s fever would claim her before long.

“What did you mean, the sky was burning?” She asked quietly, her fingers laced with Aelia’s. “Was there a fire?”

“An… Explosion… Fell from the sky.” Aelia replied quietly, hardly able to breathe between her words. Clara wanted to ask more, but she could feel Aelia’s fingers relaxing in her hand. She shifted a little, moving to look at her and give her a gentle smile.

“Your husband will be waiting for you.” She said softly. “And I promise, I swear on my life, I will keep Junia safe. Your daughter will be safe and cared for. Nothing will harm her.” She swore. Aelia smiled faintly at Clara’s words, taking the reassurance to her grave. The life in her eyes vanished and the fever ravaging her body faded - she wasn’t in pain anymore. Clara swallowed, the hope in her tone dissipating as she carefully closed Aelia’s eyes and squeezed her hand once more. She hadn’t been able to save her, but she’d learnt something - and she’d made her death a little bit less painful. 

When she had first started travelling with the Doctor, Clara had thought of him as some kind of hero, she had expected his every decision to be the right one, for him to always fix everything. But now that she lived the life she had once idolised she understood the pain and she carried that burden alone, not wanting to pass the hurt to another. She had imagined that time would lessen the blow, but every death she couldn’t prevent still hurt - and every death still lay on her conscious at night.

She tidied a few things away in Aelia’s home, packing up her belongings before bidding the dead woman goodbye. She would wait for a day before alerting the priest of her death, hoping that during that time whatever had infected her would die and that those that came to remove and bury her body wouldn’t be put in harm's way. Clara quietly walked down by the river, following the water to the outskirts of the city to return to her TARDIS. She stepped inside the cottage and glanced around the living quarters that functioned as a disguise, settling herself into an armchair that looked just a little out of its time. She sighed, her head tilting to look at the child in the cradle beside her. Junia slept peacefully and Clara intended on letting her remain that way, though she did pick her up and hold the infant close to her chest. She could feel the little girl’s heartbeat and smiled at that, fingers brushing through her hair soothingly as she hummed a gentle lullaby. This was a life she’d always dreamed of - one she’d almost had with Danny hundreds of years ago - she would allow herself to indulge for a short while.

# # #

“Hello!” The Doctor beamed cheerfully, pushing herself in through the barely open door with Yaz close behind - apologising for the Doctor’s behaviour as she closed the door and offered the young boy who greeted them a smile. “Sorry, just wanted to have a bit of a nosey - my friend and I are just passing through - I’m the Doctor, she’s Yaz, I heard something about the sky being on fire?”

“She means,  _ we’re here to help _ , what’s your name?” Yaz asked, trying to lessen the impact of the Doctor’s curiosity on these poor people. 

“Gordian, these are my wife and children. You have to leave, you can’t bring that  _ illness  _ to our home. We’re good people, we shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of others.” He said, taking a few paces towards Yaz as if he had a modicum of bravery left in his body - as if he could protect his family - but he was downright terrified. The Doctor caught on to the emotion in a flash and she quickly scaled back her enthusiasm, looking at the man more sincerely and speaking much more softly.

“I can keep you all safe.” She assured him. “I’m not from here, I’m not sick, I won’t make you sick and neither will my friend. But I need you to tell me everything you know, everything and anything out of the unusual that’s happened. If I can find out where this illness has come from, I can stop it before it kills anyone else.” She said. Gordian took a moment, processing everything the Doctor said, before nodding slowly.

“There was an explosion, something in the sky in the middle of the day, it was as if the sun tripled in size. We’ve all heard the stories of the mountain that exploded, of  _ Pompeii _ , but none of us thought something like that could happen here, there’s no mountain and the earth hasn’t shaken in the same way.” He said. “A group of merchants found something a few days later. Small, hot rocks and fire had fallen from the sky but this…  _ It was huge _ . They tried to sell it, said to ingest it, that it was a miracle cure for any common illness, but those that have taken it have all died. People stopped but… It was too late - they caught it, their parents, their children, their brothers and sisters, whole families have been killed. I won’t let mine be next.” He told them, his eyes scanning between the Doctor and Yaz quickly for a few moments before he took a step back.

“Please, leave my family alone, I beg you.” He pleaded. Yaz nodded, raising a hand to thank the family silently as Gordian moved back to his wife and children. She moved to leave while the Doctor’s eyes remained on the four of them a moment longer, lingering on his young son. She could see the sweat on his forehead and swallowed, pursing her lips together as she followed Yaz from the home. This thing, whatever it was, was identical to a plague in its symptoms, in the way that it spread… It could just  _ be  _ a plague, but the Doctor refused to believe that - the fact that a meteor had hit just days before the outbreak had started ruled any kind of natural cause out of her mind. No, there was something  _ far  _ more sinister afoot. She walked with purpose, almost forgetting her companion was even with her as Yaz jogged to keep up.

“Hey, Doctor, stop thinking in your head.” She complained. “Talk to me.” She said. Yaz knew there was something more going on between the Doctor and Clara and she knew that it had forced the Doctor to regress somewhat - thinking things through herself without voicing anything. Yaz had faith in her regardless, she would never underestimate the Doctor, but she knew the longer the Doctor spent in her own mind, the worse she would feel and the harder it would be to get through to her.

“Aliens.” She said, and Yaz’s shoulders dropped as she rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t have to dumb it down that much.” She said, gesturing for her to go on as she fell into place beside the Doctor.

“Someone, or  _ something _ , brought that meteor to Earth, brought this plague with it. I just don’t know  _ who  _ or  _ what  _ or  _ why _ . Or how…” She trailed off. “ _ But  _ we do know _ when _ ! Sort of, but it’s a start!” She exclaimed, smiling just a little. “It’s enough of a start, come on!”

“What?” Yaz asked, watching as the Doctor broke out into a run. “Wait, Doctor, where are we going?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna have an upload schedule, but I'm self-isolating... If people like it, I could be tempted to forsake my upload schedule further...!
> 
> Oh, and come find me on tumblr - queermoonie.tumblr.com


	3. II.

“We’re here to see the archivist?” Ryan said, a little more unconvincing than he perhaps should’ve. “We’re here from Rome, under the orders of the Emperor, we heard news of the skies burning.” He said. After a moment of silence he looked to Graham, nodding his head towards the magistrate, silently indicating for him to take over.

“Got a permit from ol’ Philip.” Graham said, clearing his throat as he held out the Doctor’s psychic paper and waited for what felt like an eternity. 

“Wait here.” The two of them were told, before the man turned around and left them alone. The building they were in was beautiful, stone intricately carved over years or decades, a true show of the extent of power the Romans exerted on this city so far from Rome. 

“That worked?” Ryan asked, raising a brow at Graham.

“Depends, if he comes back with an archivist it did.”

“If he didn’t?”

“He’ll come back with a guard.” Graham explained cheerfully, causing Ryan to become a little too concerned that he was picking up a few habits from the Doctor. Sensing his thoughts, Graham plunged a hand into his jacket.

“Pocket sandwich?” He asked, pulling out the neat tinfoil package. “Cheese and pickle.” He offered. Ryan held his hand up as Graham unwrapped it, laughing.

“How many of those do you have?” He asked. “And how long has it been out of the fridge?”

“You never know how long we’re gonna be away!” Graham explained, taking a bite from the corner. “Still good, don’t know what you’re missin’.” He confirmed with his mouth half full. Ryan couldn’t help but laugh more at that, and the worries of a man with a sword faded away - it was easy to forget how ridiculous their lives had become, and a pocket sandwich was a good bit of perspective.

“You called for me, Sirs?” Graham and Ryan were pulled from their laughter by an older man, shorter than them both and dressed in fine robes. “I am always pleased to serve the Emperor. I beg you, follow me, tell me how I can be of service.” He said.

“We’re looking for some records surrounding a recent event.” Graham began tamely, before Ryan chimed in.

“We heard rumours of the sky burning?” He asked, and the man’s face turned quite pale. 

“Of course, of course, come with me.” He nodded grimly, turning to the magistrate. “I am not to be disturbed.” He instructed.

“Plinius.” The magistrate nodded, returning to where he had been working as Graham and Ryan had arrived. Plinius took Ryan and Graham to a small room at the end of the corridor, gesturing for them both to sit as he searched through shelves of neatly bound books to find what he was looking for. The book he retrieved was small, the covers new and in pristine condition. Plinius paced the room for several moments as his eyes glanced over the text he had written down before taking a breath and looking at the two men before him.

“Our Gods have sent a gift.” He said quietly. “From another world, from  _ their  _ world, but we do not yet understand it. Those that have mistreated the gift have perished, but those that wish to learn… Our patience, our hunger for knowledge will be rewarded.” He said, passing the book to Graham as he continued to speak.

“I have spoken to a great many people - all those that have seen the gift for themselves. Most of them are dead now, regretfully, but I have noted everything they told me in those pages. What they saw, the merchants that found the thing, how much they charged for a piece and what they propose it is made of. The stories of the fire that rained down on our precious city…” He took a breath. “I have been to see it myself, the gift. The rock that fell from the heavens, still too hot to touch with a bare hand, it was beautiful - mysterious - I hope to unlock its wonders in my lifetime, but…” He trailed off. “I am an old man, I understand that it is far more likely I leave the gift of my own thoughts and theories for the next generation to use.”

Ryan and Graham shared a look for a moment, before looking back to Plinius.

“If this truly is a gift from the heavens, you’ll take us to it.” Graham said.

“The Emperor will need to know, we’ll have to take some to show him.” Ryan agreed. 

“Of course!” Plinius agreed. “I can arrange for transport to take us tomorrow, meet with me at dawn and I will escort you both.” 

Graham nodded and thanked Plinius, pocketing the book and bidding him farewell as he left the building with Ryan.

"Tell you what, the Doc is gonna  _ love  _ this."

# # #

“What kept you two?” Yaz called as she saw Graham and Ryan wandering towards them, the Doctor deep in thought as she rested against the wall of a building.

“Wrong Greggs.” Graham explained. “We were further up the road.”

“That’s a Curtis.” Yaz laughed, Ryan looking confused as to how she knew so much about the city. “We used to come here to train when I was doin' my apprenticeship,  _ always _ need to know the best place for a yum yum.” She told him.

“Right, well, we got somethin’.” Ryan said, shaking his head as Graham presented the book from Plinius. “From the archivist. Every single conversation he had with the people that saw the meteor, the place it fell, how much the merchants were charging people for it - he said he’d show us tomorrow.” He told her. The Doctor immediately lifted from her trance, taking several fast steps forward to retrieve the book from Ryan and flicking through the pages at speed. 

“This is  _ brilliant _ !” She grinned from ear to ear. “A when  _ and  _ a where!” She smiled.

“Alright Sherlock, still got to figure the rest out.” Yaz joked. “Those are the easy ones, still don’t know  _ what  _ that thing is, or how it’s causing all these people to get sick.”

“What about that woman - Clara?” Graham asked. “She’s not gotten sick, but if she’s been lookin’ after all these people how come she’s avoided it? Maybe there’s more to your old friend than you know.” He suggested. The Doctor’s face fell and her grip on the book tightened as she frowned at Graham’s words.

“Not like that.” She said coldly, and Graham realised immediately he’d overstepped. 

“Is she an ex?” Yaz asked. “You don’t usually get so upset when we ask about your past unless it’s personal.”

“I’m  _ not _ upset.” The Doctor said gruffly, pocketing the little book in her coat. She was starting to reconsider letting the three of them join her on this adventure. Graham had a point though - how  _ had  _ Clara avoided getting it? If she was an echo then she was still Human, still fragile and breakable, and the Doctor scrunched her nose.  _ Something  _ wasn’t right here, she just needed time to figure it out. If she rushed into things, if she allowed herself  _ hope _ , she would only end up with broken hearts once more. 

“Look, tomorrow, you and I are going to see this meteor.” The Doctor said to Graham, holding out her hand for the psychic paper, before turning back to Ryan and Yaz. “And the two of you are going to see if you can find anything weird. You could follow Clara around, if she’s looking after the sick then you’re bound to find  _ something _ .”

“But won’t we get sick?” Ryan asked.

“There’s a chance, but I have a TARDIS, I can fix you - whatever happens, promise… Probably ” She assured, unsuccessfully. “Or, I can take you all home now. If you’re here, you’re here.” She said, a look sweeping over her face that Yaz didn’t quite feel comfortable with. Still, she nodded. 

“Course. And we’re here, we’re not going home.” She said confidently - much more confidently than she felt. She looked behind her, and Graham and Ryan nodded too.

“Right then.” The Doctor said, hands resting on her hips. “I think it’s time we go and pay Miss Clara a visit.”

# # #

Hundreds of years alone had taken their toll on Clara Oswald. Once upon a time, just after leaving the Doctor’s side, she had travelled with Me. Their adventures couldn’t continue forever, and two immortals with only the other for company for the rest of time would make any tiny dispute into an eon’s long quarrel. Clara had let the loneliness consume her at first, in a way she imagined the Doctor would be used to feeling. It gnawed at her very soul and left her mind dark, her thoughts clinging to every mistake she’d ever made, every foul word she had thrown at the Doctor for his choices without truly understanding the world as he did. She had let the cold, empty Universe blind her for so long as she remembered Danny, her father, her friends and family and colleagues - people she loved but would never see again. To them, she was a ghost.

Kindness had grown from that darkness. Clara Oswald had always been a kind woman and the darkness had hidden that, not taken it. She was reborn, travelling with the legacy of the Doctor on her shoulders. With the help of her TARDIS she crafted her own sonic screwdriver and continued on her long road home to Gallifrey.

She found that the TARDIS provided plenty of fabric to use as a makeshift sling for Junia, not wanting to arouse attention with a modern papoose strapped to her back. The girl was such a good child - she had hardly cried all afternoon. When she did, the TARDIS had helped Clara by providing a bottle of lukewarm milk for the girl. Clara was grateful the girl was asleep against her chest, chubby cheeks squished against her and lips slightly ajar as she breathed deeply in her sleep - if she didn’t travel so dangerously then she would keep the little thing, but once the city was safe she knew that someone else would have to take the child and raise her in her own time.

Clara left the TARDIS in the late afternoon, just before the sun was setting, with a satchel over her shoulder containing a few scrolls and her sonic screwdriver. While she didn’t want to blow her cover to the Doctor, didn’t want her heart to  _ break  _ at another goodbye, she didn’t want to be caught off guard. The walk to the market was pleasant and one hand remained softly against Junia’s head, fingers twisting her hair as she enjoyed the warm spring breeze. The blossom on the trees was a brief respite from the death surrounding her, life in the country was blooming and it would only be a matter of time before everything was back to normal.

It was difficult not to run to the Doctor when she saw the group on the horizon but Clara fought the urge to do so. She crossed the empty market square to stand before them, offering a small smile before looking down to Junia as she stirred a little - a tiny fist forming and fingers grasping at her clothes.

“How can I be of assistance, Doctor?” Clara asked, eyes not moving from the tiny girl. The Doctor took a few steps forward, splitting from her companions to place a hand against Junia’s head - her thumb brushing against Clara’s. Ryan looked to the side and saw Yaz turning an interesting shade of red and smirked to himself, watching the Doctor and Clara interacting. Yaz was  _ definitely  _ right about Clara being an ex, of that he was certain.

“D’you mind if I take her? Just for a second.” The Doctor said, and Clara nodded. She loosened the fabric binding the girl to her and the Doctor lifted her carefully as the sleeping infant’s eyes began to open. The Doctor grinned, scrunching up her nose as the child gurgled.

“I am not your grandmother, barely look a day over seven hundred.” She exclaimed. The four Humans looked at the Doctor in unison and she pulled a face. “I speak baby.” She explained, Junia squeaking in agreement. The Doctor held the girl carefully in one arm, pulling her sonic from her pocket and using it to scan the child for any trace of the disease. 

“She had a slight fever.” Clara said. “But no other signs of illness, I’ve been trying to take care of her the best that I can.”

“Oh, I’m sure you have.” She said, raising an eyebrow at the readings from the sonic before handing the girl back to Clara. “You’re very trusting of strangers, Clara.”

“You have a trustworthy face, Doctor.” She said, meeting the Doctor’s eyes. There was a moment of silence that the companions saw, a look in both of their eyes that suggested more to the story, and that very little of it would be said by the Doctor. “Besides…” Clara continued after the moment passed. “These people have to trust me, a stranger, to care for them as they lay dying. It’s only fair that I trust strangers trying to save them in return. I’ll ask again, Doctor, how can I be of assistance?”

“What do you think this disease is, Clara?” The Doctor asked, enjoying the way the woman’s name felt on her tongue - the way it sounded with her new voice. Clara blinked at the question, knowing it was a trap. She racked her brain as she tried to remember  _ when  _ discoveries of the lungs were made, not allowing herself to fall victim to the Doctor’s games - it would only end badly for the both of them.

“It’s a curse, it’s contagious. Those that catch the disease pass it to those that they love, though I couldn’t tell you how. It is something that kills ruthlessly, painfully, and slowly. I do my best to make the pain a little less, though I’m not sure how much of a difference that makes in the end.”

“Tell you what, I can help you make more of a difference if you’d like.” The Doctor smiled giddily, her whole body animating with excitement. Clara’s smile widened into one that the Doctor recognised completely - the Clara that she used to travel with, full of bravery and impulse and kindness - and she watched as that light faded from her eyes into something more neutral as she focused on keeping her disguise.

“Change of plan.” The Doctor announced. “Graham, you’ll go with Clara to see this meteor tomorrow, Yaz and Ryan will still go together, Junia and I have some investigations of our own to make.” She said. “I thank you kindly for your time, Clara. Will you meet us here together tomorrow?”

“Of course, Doctor.” She said, adjusting Junia in her arms. “Goodnight, Doctor.” She smiled, before looking at the three behind the Time Lord. “Yaz, Ryan, Graham, I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

The Doctor waved at Junia and the child’s fingers relaxed - as if she was waving in return while Clara turned and walked away. 

“What’s the change of plan for, Doc?” Graham asked. “What are you doin’ going off on your own?”

“I think you’ll find I have Junia keeping me company - much better conversation than you lot.” She said. “And she’s a breadcrumb in a trail - there’s an increase in Artron energy around her and I think I know what she’s going to lead me to.”

# # #

Clara walked through the dusk filled streets as she cooed over Junia, smiling as the girl wriggled and squirmed with gleeful smiles and gurgles - oblivious to the condition of the world around her. The innocence she displayed was a purity Clara hadn’t seen in far too long and she felt her heart growing warm at the sight. With each footstep rocking Junia, she fell asleep in Clara’s arms once more and she continued along the riverside - almost reaching her home when she was stopped by a man - the magistrate - and she offered him a kind smile.

“Can I help you, Sir?” She asked politely, her eyes following him. She had seen him before in passing, but this was the first time she had spoken with the man alone. There was something about him she couldn’t quite place - the purple border to his toga, or perhaps how  _ messy  _ his hair seemed to be.

“I need your assistance.” He said, his voice smooth despite the attempt to convey desperation. “My wife and child are ill, I have been told that you will see those with the curse?” He asked. 

“Of course, let me take--” Clara stopped, the man grasping her hand to prevent her from leaving.

“Please.” He said, his eyes beseeching hers. “My name is Otho, I am the magistrate of this town and I will ensure you are paid handsomely for your assistance. I beg of you, come at once, your child shall suffer no harm.”

Clara opened her mouth to protest, but Otho didn’t let go. His grip on her tightened and, with his fingers firmly on her wrist he pulled her close - the other hand moving swiftly to grab her shoulder.

“I know your secret,  _ traveller _ .” He hissed, moving his face closer to hers so they were mere inches apart. If her heart still beat, it would have been racing. “Come with me, and the Doctor  _ won’t know _ .”

“Won’t know what?” She asked, trying to act oblivious to what was being said - but Clara had already pieced together who she was speaking to. 

“Your pulse,  _ Clara Oswald _ , where is it?”

Clara paused, swallowing. “Why should I trust you?” She asked quietly, as she felt the hand on her shoulder move down her side slowly, before delving into her satchel. The man raised an eyebrow with a smirk. 

“Oh, a sonic of your own, how  _ very  _ Doctor of you.” He teased, taking the device and throwing it to the ground, crushing it with one quick stomp of his foot. Clara couldn’t help but flinch and the man laughed. He seemed to quiver with emotion as he continued to speak,  _ power  _ running through his veins. “Do you think she’d be proud of what her Impossible Girl has become? You should’ve died centuries ago, instead you’re running like the coward you are.” He said, his hand moving to her waist and pulling her even closer. “Still, you’ll make  _ excellent  _ bait.” He purred, leaning in to stoke the fear in her. Clara could feel his breath on her skin, his nose almost brushing against her forehead. “Just because I can’t kill you, doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written a few chapters ahead & increased the rating for the fic to a T as it will be taking a bit of a darker turn - nothing too horrific or graphic, just want to make sure people are aware! Hope you're all enjoying, I promise that at some point I will stop uploading so often I'm just really enjoying writing and sharing my work with people at the moment!


	4. III.

“Good morning, Clara!” The Doctor said brightly, waving at her fam’s newest members. Clara offered the Doctor a smile and Junia gurgled her own response to the Time Lord. The Doctor’s nose scrunched at the child’s words. “Enough out of you.” She muttered, Clara beginning to unstrap the girl from her chest.

“Doc, run me over it again would you? I wanna be completely sure I’m getting this right.” Graham said, approaching her as she took Junia in her arms.

“You and Clara are going with Plinius to see that meteorite. From what everyone in his notebook has said, it almost seems alive. I need you to find the most alive looking piece and bring it back to me, but don’t touch it with your hands.” She instructed. “There’s special gloves in that bag, and enough petri-dishes to make Alexander Fleming look like a nobody.”

“Hang on, who  _ is  _ he?” Yaz asked.

“Gaaah, you lot!” The Doctor exclaimed. “He discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic! He’s the reason you lot are the way you are today and you don’t even know his name. That’s next on the list, a trip to meet Alexander Fleming.” She said, looking between the three disappointed as they stared at her cluelessly. She turned back to Clara and offered a smile.

“After your time, not going to lecture you for not knowing him.” She said kindly, bouncing Junia in her arms. “It’s been a while since I’ve held one of these.” She said, making eye contact with the infant. “Even longer since I had one of my own. Sometimes I think I’d like to settle down and have a family again, then I remember my face is on the wanted list in about seventeen separate Galaxy’s and I reconsider." She said to herself. “Clara, can you strap her to my back? I don’t want her going head-first into danger. Not that I’m expecting any, just that it tends to find me.”

Clara wandered behind the Doctor to bind Junia to her back as requested, Ryan looking over to Graham and whispering from a distance as she did.

“You know the plan, yeah?” He said.

“Course I know the plan. Figure out who this woman is, and stop her doing whatever she’s doing before it’s too late.” Graham agreed.

“The Doctor’s gonna be angry.” Yaz reminded them.

“Right, but the Doctor can’t see what’s goin’ on. She likes this girl.” Ryan said and Yaz couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

“He’s right, the Doc’s gone all mushy on her. Plinius is gonna make sure she doesn’t come back.”

“Hang on.” Yaz said. “We  _ agreed  _ that we weren’t going to hurt her, just stop her.” 

“Yeah, we’re gonna leave her behind when we come back and make up some story, give the Doc time to fix whatever she’s done and then when we go to find her again the Doc can sort her out herself.”

“Y’think it’ll work?” Ryan asked.

“It has to work. If this Clara lets this disease spread anymore, who knows what’ll happen to history.” Graham said. “She’s killin’ off our ancestors, don’t start gettin’ lost in those pretty brown eyes. And don’t  _ pretend  _ I haven’t seen you looking.” Graham chided Ryan, pointing at him as the Doctor and Clara joined the group.

“We ready to go, fam?” The Doctor smiled, oblivious to the conversation that had taken place in her absence. “Come on, I’ll be replacing the lot of you with Junia before long - no time for gossiping with her.”

“Sure.” Graham said, glancing sideways to Clara. “Come on, Plinius’ is waiting for us.” He told her, hands in his coat pocket as he wandered wordlessly towards the horse and cart with Clara not too far behind. The Doctor’s brows furrowed at that and she looked towards Ryan and Yaz. 

“Everything alright with him?” She asked.

“Course. Probably just slept on the wrong side of the bed.” Yaz said, not meeting the Doctor’s eyes and the Time Lord’s frown deepened. 

“What’s goin’ on?” She asked. “You know you can tell me. We might be in the middle of saving the world, but I’ve always got time to look after my fam. I’m not a  _ Time Lord  _ for nothing.” She smiled reassuringly.

“It’s nothin’.” Yaz insisted. “Come on Ryan.” She said, turning and walking away from the Doctor. Ryan offered the Doctor a shrug as he turned to follow her and the Doctor’s nose scrunched up, looking over her shoulder to confer with Junia.

“You’re right. Something  _ is  _ off with them.” She said, and Junia gurgled in response.

“I don’t like what you’re saying, petal.” The Doctor told her, pulling her sonic from her pocket and reaching behind her, buzzing the device briefly to get a direction to start her search in when she felt finger fingers brushing against her own, and the whir from the sonic was muffled. Twisting her head around to look over her shoulder, the Doctor laughed. 

“Tasty?” She asked Junia, watching as the little girl suckled at the tip of her screwdriver, smiling brightly as the curious child discovered that she wouldn’t retrieve milk from it any time soon. “I’m sorry, we’ll find something for you soon. How do you feel about a custard cream?” She asked, pulling gently at the sonic to remove it from the infant’s mouth as she glanced at the readings and began to follow the river to find what she could only hope for.

# # #

“What are we looking for again?  _ Somethin’ weird  _ doesn’t really narrow it down with the Doctor.” Yaz said, walking alongside Ryan as they strode through the streets of Lincoln. The smell that had first greeted them as they’d stepped out of the TARDIS was something they’d become quickly accustomed to, and though it had grown stronger they barely noticed it. “I mean, it could be anything. We’re not from here, or now, we don’t know what’s weird and what isn’t. Sometimes I think the Doctor just wants to get rid of us.” She said. Ryan waited for a few moments, and when Yaz didn’t continue he spoke.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly, a hand resting on the strap of the bag over his chest. “I mean… I know it’s not my place to pry but…  _ You and the Doctor _ . I can see you like her. And it’s obvious that this Clara means something to her… Are you okay?”

“I’m  _ fine _ , Ryan.” She insisted, taking a breath and stopping walking for a moment. “I just feel…  _ Invisible _ . I don’t need a confession of undying love, the Doctor could  _ never  _ love someone as Human as me like that, but I feel like she doesn’t even see.”

“Maybe she doesn’t.” Ryan suggested. “She’s an alien, maybe Clara is too, maybe that’s why they look at each other like that.” He said, before realising he probably wasn’t making Yaz feel any better. “I’m not gonna pretend I understand why she doesn’t feel the same way that you do, I just know that you’re one of my best friends and she’s missin’ out.” He told her. “Maybe she just doesn’t want to live for hundreds of years without you.”

Yaz glanced up at Ryan, not noticing that her eyes had glassed over with unshed tears. “Yeah, maybe.” She said quietly, giving him an unenthusiastic smile. “Maybe I’m just not good enough for a Time Lord.” She offered.

“I think that Time Lord isn’t good enough for you.” He said, nudging her gently with his shoulder. “You’ll find your Doctor, one day. We both will.” He smiled. Yaz met his eyes and his smile made hers widen just a little - she couldn’t make the Doctor love her, but one unrequited crush wasn’t going to put her off love forever, and it certainly wouldn’t stop her travelling. She took a moment to breathe, nodding to Ryan’s words. 

“You’re right.” She told him. “Should we go look for somethin’ weird, then?”

“Yeah.” Ryan agreed, nodding his head to the side as they started on their way once more.

# # #

Clara and Graham travelled in near silence, the  _ clip-clop  _ of horses hooves in time with the rocking of the cart the only noise that accompanied them. Clara had no desire to break her cover, she didn’t know if she could trust the Doctor’s new companions with her secret and the last thing she wanted was for the Doctor to realise that it was  _ her _ . She’d tried so hard to steer clear of the man, and now the woman, to avoid another heartbreak,  _ another goodbye _ . The Doctor had never been any good at goodbyes and Clara’s love for the Time Lord hadn’t waned over the years. She would give everything up in a moment if the Doctor asked her to join her again, but this face seemed so  _ happy  _ with her new friends - she didn’t need an old memory to haunt her.

“What’s that face for?” Graham asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He was walking himself through the plan that he, Yaz and Ryan had formulated the night before, but it didn’t make him any less of himself. Despite his suspicions about this woman he was conscious that he might not understand the entire story, the reasoning behind her obvious lies, and that she might not  _ be  _ as guilty as they thought.

“It’s nothing.” Clara said, shifting a little as the wheels of the carriage hit a bump in the road. She hit her head on the top of the cart and let out a quiet  _ ow _ under her breath, her eyes glaring daggers into the wood.

“Y’alright?” Graham asked, furrowing his eyebrows as she waved him away with one hand, the other moving to the top of her head. He wasn’t taking that for an answer and craned over, trying to get a view to see if there was a bump that had formed immediately when he saw it - through the strands of hair that parted mid-way down her neck. His frown deepened and he leaned closer to her, Clara jumping back just a little to look at him with wide eyes. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t--” He began, but was cut off immediately.

“You saw,  _ nothing _ .” Clara stated firmly. “Understand?”

“No, not at all.” Graham told her. “What was that?”

“It’s just a mark, you don’t need to know anything else.” She insisted.

“It looked like writing. I’m not gonna hurt you, I just wondered what it said.”

Clara watched Graham for a long moment, her eyes not leaving his face as she searched him for even an ounce of a lie. She saw no ill intent behind his eyes, nothing that suggested to her that he was going to use her answer against him. He just seemed like a concerned man, someone that had more care to give than people he needed to give it to. Clara’s hands moved back to her lap and her fingers fiddled, thumbs running over each other as she began to speak.

“I used to travel with the Doctor, a very long time ago.” She began. “The first face I travelled with was young, and something awful happened. One of his foes entered his time stream and began to kill him over and over, appearing throughout his life where there had previously been no one, no danger, nothing.” She said, the rocking of the carriage comforting her enough to retell the story of their time together.

“I followed. I hadn’t travelled with the Doctor for long, but I had fallen in love with him. He showed me wonders, he gave me something I didn’t know I had been looking for, and I  _ owed it  _ to him, to the Universe, to save him. When I did, I died, and I split into thousands of different versions of myself.  _ Echos _ . They were born and they lived their lives until the Doctor appeared, and then they died to save him. But the Doctor saved me,  _ the real me _ , and we kept travelling.” 

“He changed faces and for a while I wasn’t sure I could still love him. He was a completely different person, but he was still the same Doctor and I fell in love with him all over again. We travelled together for…” She took a breath. “I don’t know how long. Months, years? It didn’t matter, time passed differently for me than it did everyone else.”

“Over time, I changed. I became more and more like him - more adventurous, more impulsive, I wanted to save everything and prove that I was every bit as strong as he was. I wanted to be  _ worth _ him.” She paused for a moment, looking up to Graham as he gestured for her to go on. “I loved him, and I think he loved me, but neither of us ever said it - I think we understood that a confession like that was a line that couldn’t be crossed. Eventually, my desperation to prove that I wasn’t  _ just Clara  _ led to my death. The Doctor was exiled and spent billions of years escaping his own prison, dying over and over and over just to get me back.” She stopped again, taking another deep breath as tears filled her eyes and she blinked rapidly to try and make them disperse. 

“He did, but I had no pulse - my death was a fixed point in time and I’d have to go back eventually. I could never die unless I went back. Our love, however unspoken, had become so strong that neither of us could see the other suffer - we were a danger to the Universe so long as we were together. The Hybrid, that’s what we were called in a Gallifreyan prophecy. So the Doctor tried to wipe my memories of him but I fought back - if that had to be goodbye I wanted to remember him. And he forgot me instead.”

Clara closed her eyes and hung her head, wiping the tears on her cheeks before they fell any further. As her shoulders began to shake she felt Graham’s hand rest against hers and looked back up, finishing her story.

“I travelled alone. The Doctor’s clearly regenerated and remembered me in the time since I last saw him, or  _ her _ . I knew she recognised me the moment she saw me so I’ve been pretending to be an echo. If the Doctor doesn’t think I’m the real Clara there’ll be no pain for her when the time comes to say goodbye - she’ll think she’s saved the lives of one of my Echo’s and she’ll leave without batting an eyelid.”

Graham hesitated for just a moment to be sure the story had ended before he spoke.

“Won’t it hurt you?” He asked gently.

“Of course.” She said. “More than anything else in my life, watching the Doctor leave me again will  _ hurt _ . I suppose I could always go back to Gallifrey, I could die.” Clara said, a sad smile making its way onto her face.

“I thought Gallifrey was destroyed.” Graham said, frowning once more. There was silence for a moment, and then-

“What--?” Clara breathed, looking at him incredulously. “It can’t be, I have to go back one day or else… Or else history will be broken.” She said, her middle and index finger moving to her wrist to search for a pulse.  _ Nothing _ . She swallowed, unsure if that was meant to be a relief or not. Graham could see the panic crossing her face but he wasn’t sure how he could help - the history between the Doctor and Clara was obviously a lot more complicated than he’d first thought and---  _ The plan _ . Graham leaned back against the seat, putting a little distance between himself and Clara as he thought of a way to tell Plinius that the plan was  _ off _ , categorically, Clara wasn’t the guilty party in this, she couldn’t be.

“I’m sure the Doc will figure something out.” Graham told her, before falling silent once more. Clara watched him look away and sat back in the carriage, trying to think how she was going to work her way out of this.

# # #

“This is where you’re leading me.” The Doctor said, standing in front of the little cottage. The roof was neatly thatched and the flowers in bloom, and while it was undeniably beautiful it was just a little out of place. The perception filter didn’t work on her, she  _ knew  _ what she was looking at and she  _ knew  _ why it didn’t quite match every other building around it, but it still felt like too much to say that she was certain. Careful not to step on the flowers, the Doctor made her way to the door and pushed gently. It gave way without a second thought and her smile widened cautiously, still afraid to give way to disappointment.

The cottage was beautiful, and just as  _ Clara  _ as the Doctor would expect. A well stocked bookshelf despite the time period, a slightly futuristic armchair and a cradle with a design she recognised. The Doctor reached over her head and pulled Junia from where she had settled on her back, little feet kicking excitedly as she was now held close to the Doctor’s chest. Junia’s tiny fingers curiously experimented with the yellow elastic braces before soft gums came to suck hungrily at the fabric. The Doctor simply smiled, a hand running through her hair as she explored the room.

As she wandered the floor creaked and the Doctor admired just how much of her old friend was visible in this design. The bookshelf wasn’t just full, but filled with classical literature - books that were yet to be written somehow with broken spines and folded pages - little plants and trinkets collected from civilsations that didn’t exist yet, or from ancient worlds long lost to the cosmos. She placed Junia into the cradle and brought the blankets around her, tucking her in softly as the child reached for the Doctor’s hand. Her hands held onto the Time Lord’s thumb tightly and the Doctor smiled, her four fingers wiggling against Junia’s stomach to make her giggle softly.

“There we go.” She said, pulling her hand away as she squirmed peacefully to herself. “Have a rest,  _ Auntie Doctor  _ is going to see if Clara is really…  _ My Clara _ .” She smiled, all the more certain of it now as she continued to admire the room. While she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the console room the Doctor was sure it was here somewhere, but she distracted herself opening drawers to find souvenirs from Clara’s travels. One draw was padlocked and, while the Doctor respected her privacy, she also wanted to be  _ certain _ . A quick buzz of the screwdriver made short work of the lock and she pulled the draw open.

Inside lay a copy of  _ 101 Places to See _ . The Doctor picked the book up as if it were a fragile, priceless antique, and gently opened the cover. On the first page was a simple sentence that made the Doctor’s hearts beat a little bit faster:  _ Property of Clara Oswald, ages 9, 10, 11, 12… _ .

The Doctor flipped through a few pages to find the red maple leaf, still crisp but not crumbling between her fingers, and she placed the items back into the drawer she’d found them in. She was about to close the drawer and replace the lock when she caught sight of something else - a glint of metal on a chain. The Doctor reached her hand back in and pulled out a key. Ordinary, unassuming, but very clearly something of sentimental value. The Doctor took her own key to the TARDIS from her pocket and held the two side by side, chuckling to herself - a perfect match. There was no longer a doubt in her mind, this  _ Clara  _ wasn’t an echo, this was  _ her Clara _ .

“My Impossible Girl.” She smiled softly. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy this fluff, you won't be seeing it again for sometime...
> 
> On another note, I've finally decided on an upload schedule: Sundays and Wednesdays, so twice a week (while I'm being good and actually writing!), so now you all know that pain is coming on Wednesday, and I am apologising in advance.


	5. IV.

Yaz and Ryan walked side by side through the deserted streets, face appearing in windows and watching as the two strange,  _ brave  _ souls wandered without a care in the world. Ryan’s hand rested on the strap of the back he carried and he pulled at it a little nervously, not liking the feeling of hundreds of eyes on the back of his head when they didn’t know what was going on. 

“Graham’s gonna be alright with her, with Clara, right?” He asked, asking the question to break the silence and let his mind worry about other things.

“Course, so long as he follows the plan.” Yaz assured, giving Ryan a smile and placing a hand on his shoulder. “He’s made it this far, he’s got to be at least a little bit sensible.” She quipped, Ryan stopping in his tracks as Yaz went to the edge of the bridge, resting her arms on the walls and looking down to the water beneath them.

“What do you think we’re lookin’ for?” She called back to him.

“I dunno, like a rat?” He asked, wandering to join her. “That’s what did it in the other Plagues, right? Rats spread it to people?”

“And fleas.” She said, frowning and squinting. “So we’re looking for rats and fleas, but  _ weird  _ rats and fleas?”

“Could be alien rats.” Ryan tried to joke. “Like Human sized rats that walk on their hind legs.” He said, laughing at the mental image and Yaz smiled, shaking her head as she chuckled quietly to herself.

“Come on, let’s get away from the streets. If something’s trying to kill these people I don’t think it’s going to knock at their front doors.  _ Especially  _ not if it’s a Human sized rat.” She teased, smirking at Ryan as she came down from the bridge and walked down some steps to the river below. The river was straight and long, and beyond the rows of houses there was plenty of grass - long, overgrown, the perfect hiding place for anything small to bide its time. Across from them was the marketplace they’d all met at in the morning and Yaz looked over, no sign of Graham or the Doctor returning, so she led Ryan towards the grass.

“Isn’t this a bit  _ needle in the haystack _ ?” Ryan asked, looking at the open land ahead of them. “That’s like… The rest of  _ England _ out there. It’d take days to search it all.”

“Yeah, but if these things want to infect people and we’re walking straight into their home, surely they’ll come straight for us?”

_ That  _ stopped Ryan dead in his tracks. “We’re bait now?” He asked, shaking his head. “Come on Yaz, let’s not be bait. What if we get infected?”

“The Doctor said she could fix us.”

“The Doctor said she  _ might  _ be able to fix us.” He warned, still standing where he was.

“So you’re just gonna let all these people die instead?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryan looked at Yaz and shifted uncomfortably. He knew what the Doctor had told them, that they’d all  _ change  _ as people if they travelled with her, but no one seemed to have changed more than Yaz.

“You scare me, sometimes.” He said quietly, walking over to her side. “Just for the record, it better infect you.” He told her, stepping into the long grass to begin their search.

# # #

“The plan’s off.”

Plinius looked at Graham, frowning at his hushed words as Clara wandered towards the site of the crashed meteor.

“Off?” He asked. “My instructions were clear, Sir.” 

“Yeah, and they’re clear now too. That girl isn’t who we thought, you aren’t to lay a finger on her.” He said. “Or else.” Graham threatened, before leaving his side to wander into the crater after Clara. The ground beneath his feet was loose and he found himself sliding more than walking. Clara had already approached the meteor - it was about waist high and from a distance, the melted iron made it look smooth. As Graham got closer he could see the different lumps and bumps, the streaks where the rock had melted as it had crashed through the atmosphere, and the areas where merchants had carved out chunks of the rock to sell. 

“This would be a lot easier if I had my sonic…” Clara muttered, holding out a hand to Graham expectantly. “Petri-dish.” She said simply, Graham looking through the bag the Doctor had given him to hand Clara a little plastic container. 

“Didn’t the Doc say this thing looked alive?” He asked, frowning at the meteor. “Just looks like a rock to me.”

“It’s been here for a few weeks now.” Clara told him, reaching into her own bag to pull out a chisel and hammer to chip away at a few small samples for the Doctor to investigate further. “Anything that was alive in it is long gone, and those things will have gone on to infect half the city. I just hope they haven’t travelled any further afield.” She said quietly. 

“Is that likely?” Graham asked her, watching Clara closely as she shook her head.

“No. The holes in the rock are small, so whatever was inside must be tiny, and they won’t have been able to travel far or fast. It’ll be easier to use us as a means of transport, and no one  _ sick  _ has left the city - they’ve all been left alone to die. I hope that means all these creatures are still where we can stop them.” Clara said, sliding the top of the petri-dish back on to make sure the rocks didn’t spill. “Did the Doctor want anything else from us before we leave?” She asked, a hand moving to come into contact with the meteor - still warm, but much easier to touch than it would’ve been a few days ago. Her fingers traced the lines of the rock slowly and she took a deep breath,  _ feeling  _ to see if there was anything at all she could detect that would be of use.

“I think that’s everything.” He said. “She’ll probably do somethin’ with that sonic of hers, figure it all out and save the day now - right?”

“Right.” Clara smiled. “She’s good at saving the day. Come on.” She said cheerfully, turning to walk back up the slope as Plinius appeared above them both.

“We’ll be up in a sec.” Clara called to him, still walking as Graham stopped.

“Clara, I don’t…” He trailed off and Clara looked back up. The archivist stood with a blaster pointed at the two of them in one hand, and what looked like a grenade in another. Graham raised his hands slowly, showing that he meant no harm, and Clara quickly followed suit. She took a few steps back to stand at Graham’s side - while she travelled alone she had become accustomed to protecting people, and the Doctor’s friends were no exception.

“Plinius, whatever’s going through your head right now,  _ put those weapons down _ . We can talk about this.” She said, Graham glancing over to her. She sounded just like the Doctor did, and that familiarity put him at ease.

“I’m here to do a job.” He said, looking at Clara unnervingly.

“I  _ know _ , we both are, but we know how this ends. You don’t have to do this.” Clara told him gently. “You help us, we help you. The Doctor can help you.” 

“No.” Plinius said, moving the blaster to aim directly at Clara’s heart. “I’m sorry.”

Graham’s eyes widened as the scene before him unfolded, a sense of  _ guilt  _ overriding everything else as the world went quiet and a blaster bolt shattered through Clara’s chest. Before he could process what was happening, before he could cry out to Plinius or run to Clara’s side, she was on the ground and the grenade had left his hand - rolling down the slope of the crater as Plinius disappeared from sight once more. In the split second he had, Graham dove away from the grenade and hid himself behind the meteor, his hands covering his head as the explosion came. It was quick - a wave of hot air hit first, followed by a ringing in his ears and then - silence. Darkness.

# # #

Clara Oswald woke up, but she didn’t open her eyes immediately. Her entire body ached from overuse though she had no idea what she’d done - her last memories were the Doctor, Junia,  _ Otho _ . No, not Otho,  _ the Master _ . Different face but emphatically the same person. Junia, what had happened to Junia?! Clara forced her eyes to open - vision blurring and head spinning in the first few moments as she familiarised herself with her surroundings. A clean, white room, sparsely decorated and lit brightly to give the place an uncomfortable, medical feeling. Clara made herself focus, eyes glancing around for any indication of  _ where  _ this room was - still on Earth? Perhaps a spaceship? Was she even in the same Universe? She went to sit up and she felt her entire body jolt as it tugged against restraints. Her wrists and ankles were chained down and spread apart so she couldn’t wiggle free, and a clamp held her waist firmly against the table she was rested on. No sonic, no way to tell the Doctor to find her,  _ dying  _ wasn’t even an option as a way out. She swallowed, knowing she needed to wait for more information to reveal itself to her before she found a way out.

“Well, look at what we have here.”

It wasn’t the same voice as before,  _ Missy  _ was long gone, the man that approached her was the same man that had approached her by the river, albeit dressed  _ very  _ differently. Gone were the simple robes of a wealthy Roman, replaced now with a three piece plaid suit and a long, purple coat that reminded Clara of the Doctor’s old faces - even the mop of hair seemed familiar. She pushed the memories aside as the man jumped down a flight of stairs three at a time, boots heavy as they hit the floor and he bounded towards her excitedly.

“Look at what we have… Here.” He said, taking a deep breath as he approached Clara slowly, moving to her side and smirking as he leaned over her.

“Hello.” He paused for a beat, eyes glancing down over her restraints before meeting hers once more. “Miss me?”

“Master.” She said simply, staring at him as emotionlessly as she could.

“Oh, you really  _ are  _ like the Doctor aren’t you? Pretending you don’t care, that you’re not afraid?” He smiled. “But you’re  _ not _ her.” He snapped, the smile replaced with a frown as quickly as it emerged. “You’ll never be anything like her. An entire  _ species  _ rose from that woman, Galaxy’s  _ cower  _ before her name. She is Death to billions of creatures, and those that don’t die spin a tale of horror in her name. You,  _ Clara Oswald _ .” He paused, taking in a breath before letting out a quiet noise of disgust. “Nothing. Not even  _ Human _ anymore, are you? Just a shell of yourself, empty of what gave you purpose and meaning, a  _ Ghost _ .”

“Are you done?” She asked. “I can assure you, I’ve had a few hundreds years to get started on that self loathing. You can’t  _ scare me _ , and you can’t kill me. You have no power.”

“Oh, is that true?” He asked, pulling a chair beside her and sitting himself down, leaning over to rest his head beside Clara’s, his forehead pressed against the side of her head as he whispered directly into her ear. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. You see,  _ you _ are the Doctor’s pet.” He began. His eyes looked down the table at her arm and he moved a hand to her wrist, his thumb, ring and pinky finger tucking against his palm as he pressed the tips of his index and middle finger against her arm - walking them up slowly as he spoke.

“The Doctor, she  _ loves  _ each and every one of her pets. It’s a terrible disadvantage, makes her incredibly  _ easy  _ to toy with. But we both know that you hold a place in her heart, a  _ special _ place I may even be tempted to say. Oh, she’ll destroy  _ planets  _ to save you.” He said, his fingers stopping half way up Clara’s bicep. He let out a breath and relaxed his hand, his palm resting against her skin and fingers softly cradling her arm. “I don’t need to scare  _ you _ , I don’t need power over  _ you _ , don’t think I value you enough to do that. I want the Doctor, you’re just a convenient route to get to her.” He said, squeezing tightly before standing back up and pacing to stand at her feet.

“The Doctor doesn’t care about me. Not anymore. She’s forgotten who I am, and if she  _ does  _ remember, she thinks I’m an echo.” She said. “Nothing worth saving, she won’t come.” 

The Master chuckled at her words, the smile returning to his face once more.

“Oh,  _ of course _ , you’re right.” He said, clasping his hands together. “I  _ definitely  _ didn’t think of that at all. Well, I suppose we’ll just have to have a little fun while my plan inevitably fails.” He smirked, giving Clara a wink just to hammer his sarcasting tone home.

“Clara Oswald, the Impossible Girl, the woman who should be dead, trapped between one heartbeat and your last… Do you think it would hurt if I changed that?” He asked, moving to the other side of her. Clara rolled her head to face him, not daring to look away for a moment. “You’re not at Trap Street. If your heart beats again here, will you die now? Disappear in front of the Doctor’s eyes all those years ago? Will he still believe you’re dead, or will history crumble around you?” He asked, leaning down to press his nose against her hair as he breathed in deeply. “Let’s take a little gamble together. I’ll restart your heart, and we’ll see what happens.”

Clara’s eyes widened at his words and a thousand different eventualities filled her mind - none of them good. Despite the restraints she jerked her body against them, pulling desperately to try and escape as the Master walked away from her, leaving her to thrash in fear as he prepared to experiment. The bounds on her wrists dug deeper with each movement until they cut through her skin, little droplets of blood pooling on the surface. It was enough to get her to stop, realising the moment her heart began to beat again cuts on her skin would only add another element of risk. She focused on her breathing, closing her eyes and trying to think of some good that could come out of this - some way that she would be able to save herself, or that the Doctor would. Or maybe this would all go horribly wrong, it would simply backfire and kill her and the Master and end whatever plan he was enacting. She reassured herself that some kind of  _ good  _ would come from the situation and managed to focus on that. She’d had hundreds more years than she should have done already and that had to be enough for her - no other Human had the same life that she had, and she had to be grateful.

“Plinius!” The Master cried, pulling Clara out of her thoughts as she watched the Master interacting with the new man. “Fantastic, I saw what you did out there and what a performance - oh if you were still of any use to me…” He trailed off and chuckled to himself. “Take these.” He said, handing the man the electrodes and nodding his head towards Clara. “Put them on her, you can return to whatever form you want after that.” He said, almost sweetly as he turned away. 

“Before I do this, Clara, I’m going to let you see something - just so you know how much  _ better  _ than you Time Lords will always be.” He said, bounding back up the stairs giddily as Plinius approached Clara. She watched the man attentively, though she’d already heard the Master’s quip and knew that the man before her wasn’t  _ really _ who he seemed. With Clara restrained it was easy to remove the clothing covering her chest, placing the self-adhesive electrodes to her skin. Clara watched closely, her breathing quickening as she felt the cool gel sticking to her before the clothes were lowered once more and she could no longer see what was happening to her. Somehow, not being able to see was  _ far  _ worse. 

Plinius took a step back from her and she saw the change in an instant, the man disappearing before her eyes. It was as if he melted, the features of the Human she had once seen turning silver and liquid, dripping into a puddle on the floor that turned inwards, pulling itself together until it resembled nothing more than a rock. It looked utterly harmless, unrecognisable as a living creature, and only seemed out of place due to its surroundings. In a field in the middle of Roman Britain, no one would take a second glance.

Unless… It fell out of the sky, unless it  _ burned _ , unless people thought they could  _ profit  _ out of this mystery.

“That’s rather disappointing.” The Master said, appearing once more with the real Plinius - Human, alive, and afraid. He had his arms bound behind his back and his eyes searching the room for answers of any kind. “Thought they’d be a bit more interesting than a  _ rock _ . Still, I promised I’d show you something.” He said.

“W… Where  _ am I? _ ” Plinius asked, staring at the world around him in a daze as the Master dragged him along.

“Stay calm.” Clara told him, her bravery fuelled by the urge to protect others. She could forget about her own situation as long as she held out  _ hope  _ of saving something else. “Everything will be okay, I’m going to save you.” She said, and the Master laughed at that.

“Oh, you  _ are  _ adorable.” He smiled, looking at Plinius. “Isn’t she just adorable? Thinks she can save you.” He told the man, laughing into his ear as his hands moved across his face, settling on his chin and forehead before he twisted them quickly. Plinius dropped in an instant, and the Master looked at Clara without remorse, her face one of shock as all the colour drained from her skin.

“Nice try.” He said, kicking the body aside with a foot as he moved back to Clara. “Now, let’s return to the main event, you  _ beautiful _ thing.” He teased, a hand resting gently on Clara’s cheek and brushing ominously against her - his touch delicate for a man that had murdered another just a moment ago. “It’ll be a disappointment if you do die, after all this. I’ve got so much more planned for you - and I really could do with keeping the live copy around a bit longer. Easier to pull from those memories.” He said, his hand moving away from her cheek as his finger pointed roughly at her head. 

“Come on then, Impossible Girl, let’s see what you’re made of.” He said as he grabbed the controller for the electrodes and took a few steps back. The Master grinned giddily from ear to ear, giving Clara a little wave as he excitedly pushed a button to activate it.

Clara tried to look at him bravely, and in the moment before the first shock she could, but the second she felt the electricity hit her she screamed. Her eyes closed as she felt a surge of pain pulsing round her body, her heart beating for the first time in five hundred years. Each shock forced her heart to beat again, and again, and again, blood being squeezed through old vessels that had deteriorated with time. It was like her entire body was on fire, starved of oxygen as suddenly she needed to perform basic bodily functions once more. The Master laughed, watching as her body convulsed in pain and her cries filled the room - tears spilling from her eyes as she begged for him to stop. 

But it wouldn’t,  _ he wouldn’t _ , and he’d only just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.


	6. V.

“Right, petal, shall we go see about finding your new mum?” The Doctor asked brightly. She founded what she wanted, had the confirmation that  _ Clara  _ really was  _ her Clara _ , though she wanted to understand why she was hiding that. That maybe wasn’t a conversation to have around the others, it seemed inappropriate to share something so personal with them. Her hearts had never stopped belonging to Clara in the way that they did, even when she couldn’t remember her, and she didn’t want to ruin any chance she had of finally voicing the feelings her past face had been too afraid to by timing it all wrong. Junia gurgled affectionately as the Doctor picked her back up from her cradle, little fingers grabbing a tight hold of the Doctor’s hair and nuzzling into her neck. 

“Go on, have a nap, promise I won’t tell.” She smiled, pressing a soft kiss to the child’s head as she felt Junia settle herself comfortably. “I really do miss this, if I could go back…” The Doctor sighed softly, holding the girl close as she left Clara’s TARDIS behind. As she felt Junia still in her arms she adjusted the straps wrapped around her to hold the child to her chest, letting her keep her hands free as she walked back towards the marketplace. 

She hummed quietly to herself, ancient Gallifreyan lullabies she thought long since lost to the world, when she arrived. Ryan and Yaz were across the river and she could see them peering into a petri-dish curiously, taking a closer look at something they had found. She waved to them from where she stood, not wanting to yell and wake Junia up while she was sleeping so peacefully, and beckoned them over. Yaz led the way, walking in front of Ryan back to the bridge as he followed behind her, staring at his thumb and sucking it for a brief moment, as if he was trying to soothe a sting from nettles. As the pair approached the Doctor craned her neck over Junia’s head to look at the dish Yaz held before her.

“Looked like a bug, but when we tried to catch it, it melted.” She said, turning the petri-dish upside down to let the liquid flow as an example. The Doctor took her sonic out of her pocket and gave the material a quick buzz, raising an eyebrow. 

“Definitely alien.” She said, and Yaz and Ryan looked at each other with a shake of their heads. “I’ll do a few more tests later. When’re Graham and Clara getting back? I’d like to have a look at whatever they have, too.”

“I dunno, we’ve not seen ‘em.” Ryan said. “Should they be back already?” 

The Doctor reached inside her coat, pulling out a pocket watch and frowning. “Yeah, probably.” She said, looking back up and squinting in the distance to try and see if they were coming. “I’ll give ‘em another thirty minutes, then we’re gonna look for them.” She decided. Waiting wasn’t exactly her favourite thing to do but Junia stirred gently against her chest and in a moment Yaz was leaning in to coo over the child. 

“Hiya.” She smiled widely, offering the little girl a finger. “You’re just the cutest little thing, ain’t ya?” Yaz said, brushing the tip of her finger against Junia’s cheek to make her giggle softly. The Doctor watched the two of them for a moment, before lifting the girl from her hold and handing her to Yaz to take care of. The Doctor glanced up to see Ryan still standing a few paces back and looking at his finger again. He looked almost upset, and the moment he looked up and saw the Doctor looking at him the expression left his face and he gave the Time Lord a smile. She scrunched up her nose, indicating that she was keeping an eye on him. They’d talk later - she’d add it to the list of difficult,  _ emotional  _ conversations she needed to have. 

# # # 

“Right, times up.” 

“Doctor, it’s only been…” Yaz paused, pulling her phone from her pockets. “Seven minutes. He’ll be fine!” She exclaimed.

“No, no, he’s not,  _ they’re not _ , I can tell that something’s wrong.” She muttered to herself as she started on her march back towards the TARDIS. “You don’t have to come.” She said, a little louder as she put ground between them. Yaz looked back to Ryan and gestured her head towards the Doctor, sprinting just a little to catch up with her with Ryan not too far behind.

“What do you mean, somethin’s wrong?” Ryan asked.

“You lot’re in my head, just a bit.” The Doctor said. “It’s a psychic link, don’t know how it got there, probably more of an instinct than anything. Saves you a lot more than you might think.”

“You’re ramblin’ more than usual.” Yaz said, trying to lighten the tone.

“I’m worried, I don’t want to show it so I talk!” She said, giving Yaz a smile. 

“Graham can look after himself, and I’m sure your friend--”

“--Clara.” The Doctor corrected.

“Right, I’m sure  _ Clara  _ can look after herself too.” Ryan finished. “Just cuz we’re Human, doesn’t mean we’re useless.” He said.

“No, but you’re much more  _ fragile  _ than I am. I learnt that the hard way, it won’t happen again. It  _ can’t _ …” She said, her strides becoming longer as she whispered to herself. “I hope you’re okay, Clara. I can’t lose you again-- Oi!” She cried, yelling the last word and waving at a man with a horse and cart. It wasn’t Plinius returning to town and she frowned. 

“My friends and I need a ride, just out of town, won’t take long.” She said, the man shifting away uncomfortably. 

“People’ve seen you poking your head in where the sick are, I don’t want to catch nothin’.” He told her and the Doctor pulled a face, letting out a breath as her shoulders sagged.

“Oh, come on, help a friend out.” She said, gesturing for Yaz and Ryan to clamber into the back as she jumped up beside the man. “Take us and I’ll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams, for just a half hours work - sound alright?” She smiled, patting the man on the shoulder as he sighed and began to take the trio on their way.

# # #

The Doctor wasn’t known for sitting still, but with her mind racing of thoughts of Graham and Clara she was more restless than usual. Before the carriage came to a halt she stood and jumped out, her legs breaking into a run to keep herself from falling as her eyes scanned the horizon. There was no sign of the carriage that they had arrived in, and no trace of an entire alien army - that was  _ two things  _ off the list of possibilities and the Doctor swiftly worked her way down the rest.

The crater the meteor had left was easily identified and the Doctor ran to the edge quickly, Ryan and Yaz finally leaving the carriage as it stopped and running to catch up with the Doctor. She’d lowered herself to the ground, clump of dirt in her hand as she ran the sonic over the area.

“Somethin’s happened, I  _ knew  _ somethin’ had happened.” She said, pulling her coat off and rolling her sleeves up.

“What’s goin’ on?” Ryan asked, taking the coat that was thrust into his face as Yaz kept hold of Junia.

“They’re down there.” The Doctor said, providing no further explanation as her legs carried her down the loose soil. Ryan and Yaz’s eyes opened wide and Yaz had to hold Ryan back from following her.

“She knows what she’s doin’.” She said.

“My  _ granddad _ is down there, Yaz!” He exclaimed, trying to push past her. Yaz’s police training kicked in and, even with a child pressed to her chest, she was strong enough to keep Ryan back.

“The Doctor’ll get to him, if the ground is unstable havin’ more of us down there’s only gonna make it worse.  _ Trust her _ .” She insisted and Ryan craned his neck, watching as the Doctor made her way carefully around the bottom of the crater with her screwdriver, coming to a stop after a few paces. Her boots had sunk below the surface of the earth and she began to move what she could out of the way - slowly and carefully.

“Graham, Clara?” The Doctor called. “Can either of you hear me?”

There was a long moment of silence, before some kind of gruff, muffled response and the Doctor began to dig faster. She let her knees buckle and leaned over, shifting the soil with her arms. After a moment, with enough material moved, Graham’s head appeared. He was covered in dirt and the soil around him collapsed into the empty area around his lower body. As he coughed and gasped for air Ryan pushed past Yaz and ran towards him, barely keeping himself standing as he reached Graham’s side and fell to his knees, his hands on his shoulders as he looked over his grandfather for any injuries.

“What happened?” Ryan said breathlessly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He said, his hands shaking as he patted himself down. Despite his assurances he clearly  _ wasn’t  _ fine. His clothes had caught the worst of the blast for him and they were singed around the edges, his skin covered in a few light burns and his vision hazy, but he was  _ alive _ . “I was gonna go skiing with your nan, made sure to have a look at those videos where you get caught in an avalanche and try to make an air pocket. Wasn’t sure it’d work, mind.” He said, the Doctor wordlessly standing up and starting to sonic the ground beneath them again as Ryan pulled Graham towards him, hugging him as tightly as he could.

“It’s alright, son, I’m alright.” He said gently, returning the hold and resting a hand on Ryan’s back. He could hear Ryan’s breathing against his shoulder and could tell that he was upset - even if he tried to hide it outwardly. “We’re both alright, aren’t we?”

Yaz approached the two of them slowly, kneeling down beside Ryan and pressing a hand to his shoulder comfortingly. “I told you, she’d find him.” She said gently, Ryan nodding just a little as a quiet whimper left his mouth. It caught even him off guard, and as soon as he’d realised just how openly vulnerable he’d been he pulled back from Graham, offering him a smile and pretending his eyes weren’t as glassy as they were and that tears weren’t threatening to spill.

“Never doubted her.” Ryan said, and Graham nodded with pursed lips that hid the smile of Ryan caring about him that deeply. Of course he knew he cared, but seeing it voiced was a very different feeling.

“Where’s Clara?” 

The Doctor’s voice pulled the companions out of their moment of rejoice. There was a certain darkness that they had been briefly acquainted with - one that they had never expected to be on the receiving end of. After a beat of silence, she spoke again.

“Clara Oswald,  _ where is she _ ?”

Graham looked back to Ryan and Yaz, and while Yaz wanted more than  _ anything  _ to give him a look of ‘ _ I told you so _ ’, something about the Doctor’s tone told her that maybe wasn’t the best of ideas.

“She’s not here, I’m not picking up any other lifeforms. What  _ happened _ ?” 

“She’s… She’s dead, Doc.” Graham said quietly, and Yaz and Ryan's faces changed.

“What?” The Doctor asked darkly.

“That wasn’t the plan!” Yaz said at the same time, and the Doctor’s head snapped towards her at that.

“ _ Plan _ ?! What  _ plan  _ are you talking about?” She demanded angrily.

“We thought she was behind all this.” Yaz said, looking up at the Doctor who towered over the three of them in that moment. “She’s human but she wasn’t catchin’ this thing goin’ around, and you were bein’ secretive. We thought you were emotionally compromised or somethin’. We just wanted to put some distance between her and the city, see if people stopped gettin’ ill while she was gone.”

“Plinius shot her.” Graham said. “He shouldn’t’ve. That wasn’t the plan a-and even then, I told him that the actual plan was off!” He told the Doctor. “Clara told me everything, who she was, about you and her flyin’ around the Galaxy together.”

Throughout the explanation from both Yaz and Graham the Doctor was deathly silent. She rolled the sleeves of her shirt back down as her hair fell in front of her face, blocking the anger from her companion’s vision as she tried to focus on her breathing. In the moments that followed, no one said anything - no one moved, no one dared to - before the Doctor made up her mind.

“Back to the TARDIS.” She said quietly. Her companions were still and she practically  _ growled  _ through her teeth. “NOW.” She added, the three of them wordlessly standing up and making their way back to the carriage. 

The Doctor let them go on alone and spent a moment collecting herself as they disappeared over the top of the crater. Her had rested against the meteor and she felt herself growing weary, eyes closing and head dropping. It seemed impossible that Clara could be gone, but her very existence was impossible,  _ she  _ had been impossible, and with Gallifrey destroyed she had no idea if there even was a way to return to Trap Street. There were too many unknowns, but she was certain that Clara was gone. 

She pushed aside the emotions that threatened to fill her, forcing herself to clamber back up the slope and join the poor owner of the horse and cart who, sensibly, was silent. Once the Doctor was seated she nodded and the man began to take them back into the city, a hand covering her face as she closed her eyes and allowed the cart to lull her into a light sleep as she let her mind drift over the events and realisations of the day.

# # #

“Philip…” Gordian whispered quietly, brushing the hair from his young son’s face; his forehead was now covered in a thin layer of sweat and lesions appearing under his arms. He should have been afraid, he knew that his best chance of surviving was to leave his son locked away, alone to die in the darkness, but Philip was far too young to endure that kind of pain and Gordian was not a heartless man. He sat beside his son’s bed and ran his thumb comfortingly over his skin as the boy coughed.

“No one’s seen her.” Caelia told her husband from the doorway to their son’s room. She stood there for a moment, watching the boy as he stared at his father, before making her way to join them both. She was just as afraid as her husband but if they were going to survive this illness they would survive together, as a family. “Clara has been gone since morning, the Magistrate promised if he saw her he would send her to us.” She said, her hand resting on her son’s other cheek and looking down at him kindly.

“Mama?” The boy asked quietly, his head looking towards his mother. Caelia smiled at him gently, nodding.

“I’m right here, love.” She said comfortingly. “What can mama do for you?”

“Was I bad?” He asked, and the quietness of his voice - his use of past tense to talk about his own life at such a young age - Caelia saw a flash of rage on her husband's face.

“No, love, you aren’t bad.” She said, shifting a little as Gordian stood and left the room. “You are my son, my  _ perfect  _ little boy, you aren’t bad at all.” She smiled, leaning down to press a kiss against his forehead. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, and when you’re all better you’ll know that.”

“I’m going to get better?” He asked quietly, his eyes looking at his mother with the tiniest spark of hope in them.

“Of course, love. Your father and I would never let anything happen to you. You just need to rest as much as you can.” She smiled. “Can I leave you to sleep now, my love?” She asked, and Philip nodded a little, coughing as he did. Caelia stood up from beside him, taking in a deep breath and trying to hide the sadness on her face. “Rest well, my love.” She said gently, before leaving him alone in his bedroom and closing the door behind her. 

As the door closed and the boy was left alone, he rolled to the side and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep as his mother had instructed. He heard the floorboards creaking as she walked away, the sounds fading as she descended the stairs, and he began to cough again. 

This time it was different - it wasn’t from the infection in his lungs but from something blocking his airways. After coughing for several seconds the panic in his mind overcame the fatigue of his body and he sat up, his hands reaching for his throat to try and help dislodge whatever was stuck. After a few more moments of coughing a small silver object fell out of his mouth and he caught it in his hands, staring down at it as he began to gasp for air.

The object had felt solid in his throat but in his hands it almost looked like a liquid, moving around freely and taking whatever form it pleased as he tilted his hands slowly to watch it, studying how the sunlight reflected on the surface. 

He felt the liquid beginning to heat up in his hand and pulled a face, holding his hand over the side of his bed and pouring the liquid onto the ground as he settled back into the sheets to sleep. With his eyes closed he missed the transformation entirely, the liquid expanding and growing, solidifying and changing in colour until it replicated him exactly - from the clothes on his back to the buboes on his skin. As Philip began to sleep, the replica began to work. The boy would be of use with the replica’s master, and the replica would do its master’s bidding - their debt would be paid, and they would be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God there's so much angst still to come, but I swear it ends happily! If you'd like, follow me on tumblr @ http://queermoonie.tumblr.com/ - you can get a heads up as to what's happening and also have a chance to talk me out of some of the more angsty stuff!
> 
> I have 1 1/2 chapters left to write so we're almost done, then I'll be moving on to the next fic as I think I'll write a series of adventures for our Fam. After all, got a few months until there's more on TV and I don't think I'm allowed out of the house anytime soon.


	7. VI.

The TARDIS doors creaked shut behind the Doctor, who was the last to enter after her three companions. She looked at the three of them from where she stood, her fingers looped around the cold metal handle as she considered her words  _ very  _ carefully before speaking.

“Humanity is not what I thought it was.” She began quietly, her voice sharp and her accent almost invisible as she spoke - annunciating her words so there was no doubt as to what she had said. “The three of you… You are not  _ bad people _ , and you still got an innocent woman killed because you thought - even for a  _ moment _ \- that you were smarter than me. Well guess what, you  _ aren’t _ .” She snapped. “You are  _ Human _ , that’s all you’ll ever be. You won’t change your world, you won’t change anything. Your planet is burning and you’d rather walk closer to the cliff edge than  _ think _ .” She said, taking in a shaky breath as Ryan, Yaz, and Graham stood in complete silence.

“Clara was not like any of you. She might’ve been Human, but she was like  _ me _ . She was selfless to the end, she gave up her own life to save another and all that gave her was a lifetime of loneliness, of pain - a lifetime that ended when the three of you  _ thought. _ ” She spat, stepping towards them and pointing a finger angrily.

“Don’t forget how much  _ more  _ I am, I have killed  _ so many  _ species in my time, wiping out yours would be  _ nothing _ .” She said. At their silent stares and hurt faces she approached the console, head down as she began to play with various levers. “You’re going home.” She told them, standing up and looking at the three of them. “Give Junia to me, I’ll find someone to take her before we leave, you’ll stay in the TARDIS.”

“What about these people?” Yaz asked quietly, looking at the Doctor through sad eyes. This woman, her  _ anger _ , it wasn’t the Doctor she knew. “They’ll die without your help.”

“Yeah.” The Doctor said, walking closer to Yaz with her arms extended to take the child. “They will.”

Yaz swallowed at the lack of empathy in her words, handing her Junia and watching her closely as she left the TARDIS - the three of them standing in silence. Each of them processed the Doctor’s anger in their own way, mentally understanding - or hoping - that her threats were out of anger rather than a true desire to hurt them or Humanity. The TARDIS seemed to hum comfortingly and the lighting softened, as if  _ apologising  _ for her Time Lord and trying to offer the companions comfort. 

“Would now be a bad time to mention one of those things bit me?” Ryan asked quietly, and Yaz and Graham turned to face him. He looked sheepish, trying to offer a smile despite the worry on their faces. Yaz turned to face him, her hands on his shoulders, and Graham’s mouth opened and closed as he searched for something to say.

“No.” He settled on, shaking his head. “No, you can’t’ve. Don’t joke with me like that.” He said quietly, looking at Ryan with a deep sadness. All their travels with the Doctor, everything they’d seen and done, this wasn’t how he was going to lose Ryan. It couldn’t be. 

“What?” Yaz asked. “How?  _ When _ ? I was with you the whole time, I should’ve seen!” She said. “You should’ve said somethin’ earlier, we could’ve told the Doctor and she’d’ve helped!”

“I-it didn’t seem like the right time.” He stammered, swallowing as he looked at Graham. “If it’s contagious, you two need to get away from me. I’m not givin’ it to either of you.” He told them.

“No,  _ no _ .” Yaz shook her head. “We can help, we can do  _ somethin’  _ to help you, the TARDIS must be able to do something!”

“We don’t even know what it is.” Ryan said. “How’s the TARDIS gonna fix me when even the Doctor doesn’t know what’s goin’ on?”

“I’m gonna go after her.” Graham said, recovering from the initial shock and heartbreak. “She can’t’ve gone far and she needs to fix you.”

“You heard her, she doesn’t want anythin’ to do with us.” Ryan told him. “She doesn’t need to know. I don’t… I don’t  _ mind  _ dyin’. I’ve seen all these amazin’ things that I never would’ve seen without her. I’ve lived so much more than I ever thought I would. If this is it for me---”

“I won’t let that happen.” Graham said. “Yaz, keep an eye on him for me.” He told her, taking in a deep breath before he looked at Ryan. “Don’t ever let me hear you say you don’t mind dyin’ again, the Doc’ll fix this.” He assured, stepping forwards and pulling Ryan into a tight hug. He leaned his head on Ryan’s shoulder as he tried to bring them both comfort. “I can’t lose you, too.” He whispered, holding the hug for another moment before he pulled back. Graham placed a hand on Ryan’s cheek and smiled.

“You’ll be alright son. I swear on my life, I’ll make sure of it.”

# # #

Everything hurt. Her breathing was heavy and slow, her muscles screamed and cried out for relief, her heart ached with every beat that passed. While the shocks had ended and her life had continued, her body was coming to terms with the changes. 

The Master had stepped away from her side and she used the peace to try and figure things out in her head. The fact that she had survived terrified her, the consequences of her continued existence were too great to consider. History appeared to have remained intact, however, and while she couldn’t see the back of her head she could feel a dull burning that reminded her of the numbers on her neck - how long until she was supposed to die? Had she been given more time? Had someone died in her place? She couldn’t take her pulse but she could hear her heartbeat speeding up as she panicked.  _ Deep breaths _ , she reminded herself, trying to keep calm and think of one thing at a time.

“You lived, fantastic.” The Master’s voice rung out, but Clara didn’t both to dignify him with any kind of response.

“I was hoping you’d live. Didn’t  _ really  _ care but I did want you for something more than just a bit of a game.” He said. She heard his footsteps and saw him approaching from the corner of her eye - walking to stand in front of her. Her eyes opened wider.

_ “Junia!”  _ She exclaimed, trying hopelessly once to pull away from the restraints.

“You think I wanted  _ you _ ?” The Master laughed, looking to the infant in his arms. “No, you’re Human and  _ boring _ , I wanted this little thing.” He said. “Not Human,  _ definitely  _ not boring, oh, she and I are going to have lots of fun together.” He grinned, and Junia’s little legs kicked against him. While she couldn’t perceive or understand the situation fully, she could sense that something was wrong - and that this man wasn’t someone she wanted to be held by, that he wouldn’t protect her.

“What do you mean?” Clara asked quietly, hesitant to push him while he was holding the child and she was restrained. She didn’t want to make him act in a way that would harm Junia if she couldn’t keep her safe.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” He said. “Back to sleep now, Miss Oswald, I need my test subject to be well.” 

With one hand the Master pushed her head back against the table as hard as he could, her eyes shutting after a  _ thud _ . He turned around and walked away from her, twisting Junia around in his arms to look at her. Her eyes were  _ big  _ and  _ round _ , and so  _ wet _ . She looked like she wanted her mother as she stared at the Master and he simply scoffed. 

“She’s not coming, she doesn’t even know where you are, you’re  _ mine  _ now, and you’ll give me your secrets.” He said. He had saved the worst of the pain from the Doctor when he had shown her the truth, but he had seen the full extent of Tecteun’s actions and he knew just how to go about searching for what he needed.

The room he entered was quiet, a lab with a few additional furnishings. He placed Junia onto the operating table and, despite knowing that she was a child and  _ fully  _ incapable of escaping on her own he took no chances, he strapped her down to the table. Not enough to hurt - he wanted her in as good of a condition as she could possibly be in for now. Junia began to cry as he turned away from her, ignoring the tears and screams as he searched for a small vial and carefully measured out enough of the liquid with a syringe. With a roll of his eyes he approached the girl once more, seeing the fear carved into her face as he placed the tip of the syringe against her neck.

“You won’t remember a thing.” He whispered, in a tone that was  _ almost  _ reassuring. As he pierced her skin and injected the serum he watched her quieten down until she fell quickly into a peaceful sleep. He took her pulse and huffed, sniffling as he sat beside her. Scalpels shone under a bright white light and the equipment behind him stood ready to use at a moment's notice.

He was certain this girl was what he was looking for, and he wouldn’t be done with her until he had found it.

# # #

“What am I supposed to do?”

The Doctor’s voice was quiet as she muttered to the child in her arms. Junia was such a patient little girl, so well behaved, never seemed to cry… Even when the Doctor monologued to the infant she didn’t stir. Since leaving her companions alone in the TARDIS her mind had raced and had settled on two emotions - complete and utter grief, and regret the weight of a thousand suns crushing down on her. She shouldn’t have shouted at her companions, shouldn’t have belittled and hurt them - they were only trying their best, they didn’t have the thousands or millions or  _ billions  _ of years of experience that she did. She owed them an apology, and she would take them home and never interrupt their lives again. They deserved far, far better than her.

Junia gurgled and she was pulled from her thoughts with a gentle sigh. “I know.” She said softly, her thumb rubbing against the girl’s cheek. “I know, petal. You’re right, and I will apologise, but we have to find you a home before I go.” She said. Her anger had subsided but even when she had been  _ furious  _ she had no intentions of leaving Junia in the care of anyone that couldn’t look after her - she wasn’t just going to hand the child to the first person she saw. She needed to find someone reliable, with means to look after her, and perhaps she would find a few more clues that would help her very  _ quickly  _ solve whatever problem had cursed the city. 

Maybe she  _ couldn’t  _ just walk away.

And, after all, that wasn’t  _ such  _ a bad thing.

The Doctor looked up. Her legs had taken her exactly where she needed to go without her thinking, the kindness in her heart leading her. She stood outside the Magistrate’s building with Junia and smiled down to the little girl.

“Someone in here will be able to take care of you.” She told her gently. She knew that the people that worked here would be wealthier, and would be able to provide Junia with the loving home and fulfilling life she deserved. And this was where Graham and Ryan had found information on the meteor - and where  _ Plinius  _ had worked.

“Alright, three birds then?” She said, stepping inside the building with Junia close to her chest. It was beautiful, with intricate carvings in the stone walls and a sleek, shining floor. The building itself almost felt hundreds of years more advanced than the rest of the city and it spoke volumes of the class divide of the time. The Doctor was no stranger to witnessing inequality in the world, but she was never overly thrilled with it. Her footsteps echoed as she walked through the hall and approached a man in robes, his back turned to her.

“Hello?” She asked, deciding not to lie for once. “I’m the Doctor, I want to help you and your city but I need your help. This little girl, her parents have died - she needs a home.”

There was silence for a moment and the Doctor frowned, furrowing her brows.

“Sorry, I’m talkin’ to you - do you mind answering? I don’t  _ have  _ to save your city from aliens, y’know.” She said, pulling a face at Junia as her words still went unanswered. She reached out, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder and turning him around. 

He turned. The Doctor froze. Her eyes widened and her hands protectively held Junia closer.

“What are you---”

“ _ Otho _ , you saw straight through the filter this time.” The Master laughed. “Worked a treat on your pets, didn’t suspect a thing.” He smiled, clasping his hands together and leaning forwards to poke his face in Junia’s. The Doctor stepped back and held the girl closer to her.

“Why are you doing this?  _ What are you doing? _ ”

“Oh, Doctor.” He said, straightening his back and looking down at her as he reached out with a single finger, flicking her nose almost affectionately. “There’s so much you don’t know.” He said. “So very much you’re missing. For such a clever woman, you really  _ are  _ slow.” He told her, clicking his fingers and watching as the child in the Doctor’s arms began to melt away into nothing. As the colour left Junia’s face and her body became a silver goo her eyes widened, panicking as if she could scramble and find  _ something  _ to stop this from happening.

“What have you  _ done  _ with that child?!” She demanded, raising her voice.

“Come  _ on  _ Doctor, this is infuriating! If you’re going to try and stop me, have the decency to keep up!” He said, clasping his hands together as he paced away from her. “Go on, I dare you to figure all this out now.” He smirked, watching the Doctor as her face began to recover from the horror of Junia disappearing in front of her. “Better be quick, my friends here would like a planet and I’m not going to refuse them just because you’re taking your time. Tick tock, Doctor.” He smiled, a hand slipping into his pocket and pressing a small device to beam him away. The Doctor barely acknowledged it, barely  _ comprehended  _ what he could possibly be alluding to. She didn’t care what more she didn’t know - she cared that he seemed to have taken an innocent child, that he was behind all this, and that in no way could she leave  _ now _ .

The Doctor’s legs moved without the input of her mind again - something she was growing increasingly thankful for - and she found herself running out into the street desperate for answers. Something, anything.

“Graham!” She exclaimed, her mind finally catching up with her. “You’re supposed to be in the TARDIS, why’re you--”

“Ryan got bit by one of those things.” He said and the Doctor’s body seemed to move of its own control again, lurching as if to break into a run before coming to a halt as her hands rested on Graham’s shoulders.

“Sorry,  _ what?!  _ Ryan’s--”

“Doctor!” She looked up - Gordian, he was running over to her and looked  _ far  _ more trusting of her than before. That was never a good sign. A change that sudden suggested something awful was happening, and knowing what she knew now…

“Doctor,  _ my son _ , he’s sick. Please, you can help him?” He asked as he came to a stop a few paces in front of her. 

The Doctor closed her eyes, raising a hand to her forehead as she thought.  _ The Master. Junia. What were these things and why did he need their alliance?  _

“Argh!” The Doctor exclaimed, taking a few steps back with her hands in the air. “Why isn’t it easy? Why is it  _ never  _ easy with him?! What else don’t I know?!”

Her mind flashed back to Gallifrey, to the story of Tecteun and the Timeless Child and her breathing quickened - what  _ else  _ was there that he hadn’t told her? She’d tried thinking things through calmly and that hadn’t worked - maybe a little panic would speed it up.

“Graham, TARDIS. Gordian, go to your son, I need to investigate but I’ll come to see you this evening. This isn’t what I thought it was. He needs you to take care of him.” She said, before breaking out into a sprint back towards the TARDIS. Graham and Gordian stood and watched as she ran for a moment, before exchanging a glance.

“She can help my son, can’t she?” Gordian asked hopefully.

“Course she can. I trust her with my life.” Graham replied, before looking down at himself. Still in his singed clothing, covered in dirt and small cuts and burns, he realised that it may not have been the most reassuring choice of words. “She’s never let me down before. We’ll help your boy, alright? Just look after him and do whatever she says.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She snapped! If Chris won't give it to us, I certainly will!
> 
> That said, I finished writing the fic about two hours ago and have been able to add the "angst with a happy ending" tag, now that I know for definite how it ends, so you have that to look forward to. I'm starting work on the next in the series and super excited to keep writing. Thanks Covid, it's the one thing you've actually been good for!!


	8. VII.

The Doctor burst through the doors to the TARDIS and bounded beyond the console, taking several steps at a time as she ran to make it to Ryan’s side. The guilt from the words she’d spat before weighed heavy on her mind and her shoulders, but she forced herself to work past it for the sake of the here and now. She could apologise later, she  _ couldn’t  _ save Ryan later.

“Hey.” She said, pointing her sonic at him and scanning him from head to toe. Both Ryan and Yaz watched her carefully, their faces filled with regret for their actions and not wanting to say anything to make the situation worse. Not that they  _ could  _ make it much worse.

“Say  _ ahh _ .” The Doctor instructed, hands digging around into her pockets as Ryan did as he was told. She pulled out a handful of  _ stuff _ , a crumbling custard cream, one of Yaz’s hair ties, a TARDIS blue hydro flask, a yo-yo and a little yellow sweet. She popped the sweet on Ryan’s tongue and closed his mouth by using the end of her sonic, looking to Yaz.

“Need you to find a bedroom, get him lying down and get plenty of water.” She said, handing Yaz the hydro flask as she pocketed the rest of the goodies. “That should delay the worst of the symptoms, but come and get me if he starts to get worse, alright?” She asked, and Yaz nodded promptly.

“Where’re you goin’?” She asked the Doctor, who ran back to the console and was looking through the bag that Ryan and Yaz had brought back. “Where’s Junia gone?” 

“Melted.” The Doctor exclaimed, pulling the petri-dish with the silver liquid in out of the bag as a smile grew on her face. She was beginning to understand, and that  _ always  _ made things easier. “Go on, get him lyin’ down, Graham you’re with me. Change your jacket, though.” She said as Graham entered the TARDIS.

Ryan and Yaz disappeared into the TARDIS and Graham shrugged off his burnt jacket, approaching the Doctor briefly.

“You can save him, can’t you?” He asked quietly and she paused as she looked at the specimen, her eyes now glancing to Graham. She could tell from the tone of his voice that it wasn’t a question she could answer with her usual enthusiasm, she needed to be  _ gentle  _ and Graham needed  _ reassurance _ . Lowering the petri-dish from the light, she placed it on the console and shifted herself to face him properly. She gave him her full, undivided attention, trying to make herself look a little more approachable (especially after the incident a short while ago) - she may be socially awkward, but she could  _ try  _ to be a little more accessible for her friends.

“Yes.” She told him firmly. “Categorically,  _ yes _ , I can save Ryan.”

“Cuz he’s my grandson, Doc, he’s all I’ve got left.” He said, continuing the conversation and voicing his fears. “I don’t want to lose him. You know what that’s like, right?”

The Doctor paused, swallowing a little. She’d told them about their family when they’d first met - that she carried them with her - but something had changed lately. Perhaps it was knowing that she wasn’t Time Lord, that she’d been exploited for her DNA by the species she thought she belonged to, or maybe it was something else, but the topic of family seemed to sit differently in her hearts now.

“I know.” She said. “I was a parent once, a grandparent too. A very,  _ very  _ long time ago.” She told him, an image burning its way into her mind and she winced, shaking away the thought of regeneration, of fire and death and burning and of… She didn’t know what. It wasn’t something she could picture or see, but something she could feel. Something that, she imagined, the Master knew. Was he dangling the answer to his own question just barely in front of her?

“I won’t let you lose Ryan. Not now, not ever. While you’re with me I’ll keep you all safe, I’ll get you all home, don’t ever doubt that.” She said firmly. Graham nodded, offering the Doctor a gentle smile.

“Thanks, Doc.” He said, pressing a hand on her shoulder as he walked past her to change. The Doctor watched him go, waiting for a moment before letting out a quiet groan as her mind and body relaxed - what was going on inside her head?  _ Why  _ couldn’t she see it?

She picked up the petri-dish once more and made her way through the corridors of the TARDIS. The ship, while angry at the Doctor after her outburst with the fam earlier, was kind enough to bring her lab closer. Clearly it knew that what she was doing would help them, and that she didn’t want to hide away to sulk.

# # #

“Hi.” 

The Doctor looked up from her work, pushing the goggles into her hairline and turning off the bunsen burner as Yaz approached. She looked at the Doctor timidly and the guilt in her stomach stirred once more. Her Yaz, her  _ brilliant  _ Yaz, she hated that she’d made her friend so uncomfortable around her.

“Ryan alright?” She asked,  _ housekeeping _ she told herself.  _ Make sure they’re all alive, then apologise _ .

“Yeah, Graham’s with him now. Figured I’d give them some space.” She shrugged. The Doctor let herself take a moment, slipping the gloves off her hands and leaving them on the bench before crossing over to Yaz. Yaz wasn’t like Graham. Graham wanted someone to listen but he didn’t always need to be touched. Yaz, she’d noticed, liked it when they were in closer proximity, and so the Doctor changed her methods to speak with her. She pulled Yaz into a hug and the younger woman was momentarily surprised, before returning the embrace and resting her arms around the Doctor tightly. 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Yaz asked, the Doctor pulling away and resting her hands on Yaz’s shoulders as she spoke.

“No, I shouted at you three and I had absolutely no right to do that.” She said. “I didn’t mean to shout, none of you were to blame, it was a horrible mistake and I’m sorry.” She said, her lips pursing together as she forced a smile. “I don’t expect the three of you are gonna want to keep travelling with me after I said all those horrible things, but I don’t want to  _ send  _ you home. And if you all  _ chose  _ to leave, I don’t want you thinking any of it was true.”

Yaz watched the Doctor as she spoke, seeing how hard it was for her to find the right words to say to fix the situation. She couldn’t help but smile just a little, because the Doctor still cared for them.

“I can’t speak for the boys, but I want to stay.” She said, not giving it a moment’s thought. She’d barely ever seen the Doctor angry before and when she did, it was because she’d lost  _ something _ , because she’d seen too much  _ pain _ . She wasn’t a bad person, not to Yaz, and she could only assume travelling alone would amplify the feelings of loneliness that would lead to her anger flaring up more often.

Besides, she cared for the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled at Yaz’s decision and paced away, pulling the gloves back on as she got back to work. Yaz leaned against the workstation and watched, though her attention was very much on the Doctor rather than the work.

“So what’ve you found out?” She asked, moving the conversation back to less emotional territory, and she saw the Doctor relax at that.

“This liquid, it’s a living thing.” She said. “TARDIS database is scanning for records now, it’ll tell me everything there is that’s known about the species. Make it easier to know what he’s offered them.”

“He?”

“Oh! The Master.” The Doctor said and Yaz straightened at that. “Forgot to mention he popped up, he  _ made  _ Junia melt, which I think means there’s a Junia somewhere that these things were mimicking. And if he’s made an alliance it’s because he wants something from them, and they need something from him. Whatever he’s offered I can give them bigger, better, and I can give it to them without asking them to do anything for me. It’s an easy decision then, they agree to my deal and stop working for him.”

“And then what do you do about the Master?” Yaz asked. “Surely he’s just going to keep coming back time and time again if you don’t…” She trailed off and the Doctor turned her head to look at her, nodding.

“He’s made a habit of that. Tends to keep coming back even if I do. Besides… I need him.”

“You  _ need  _ him?” Yaz scoffed. “Why’d you need him? He’s horrible.”

“He’s my oldest friend.” The Doctor admitted. “And he  _ knows things _ . He knows things about me that even I don’t know. I want answers.”

“So as long as he’s useful to you, he can stay?” Yaz asked, pushing at the boundaries just a little. The Doctor opened her mouth to respond when the TARDIS dinged, and she silently thanked the machine for getting her out of that moral conversation. She crossed the little laboratory, pulling up a screen and clicking through to find the results the TARDIS had found for her.

“Oh.” She said, frowning as she took in the information. Yaz watched her, arms folded across her chest.

“Care to enlighten me?” She asked.

“It’s called the Qhull.” The Doctor said, looking over to the sample on the workbench. “A hivemind species, their home planet was destroyed and they’re refugees, searching for a place in the Galaxy to call home…” She said, swallowing. “The Master must’ve promised them something - a planet, security, protection - they have nothing and he’s still just  _ using them _ .” She said, wandering back to the workbench and leaning down so she was at eye-level with the liquid. “He’s looking for something, using them to keep away any suspicions while he searches, but what is he looking for?” She asked herself, racking her brain and sighing. “I doubt he’s told you, but I’m coming to help free you from him. Hang tight, okay?” She said, giving the liquid a smile and sonicking it before looking to Yaz.

“Shall we go pay our old friend a visit?”

# # # 

Caelia heard her husband return home, but only one set of footsteps climbed the stairs to join her at Philip’s side. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to remain strong as he walked in.

“She’s coming later.”

“Clara?” She asked, Gordian sitting opposite her and looking at their son.

“The Doctor.” He told her. “Still no sign of the woman, I hope she’s not caught this damn thing. She’s a Saint, not a sinner.” He said, his forehead reaching out to press against Philip’s forehead and his heart broke as the boy squirmed away from the touch.

“He’s gotten worse.” She said. “I’m sure of it. He hardly even speaks to me now.”

“The Doctor promised she could help.” He assured her. “I trust this woman.”

“We don’t even know who she is.” Caelia pointed out.

“What other chance do we have?” He asked. “We have to take this, for our son, we can’t lose him.”

There was a moment of silence between Caelia and Gordian, before he leaned forwards and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, pulling her close to his chest and letting her relax. 

“How are the girls coping?” He asked, she smiled.

“They’re wonderful, they’re so much braver than I am with all this.” Caelia said, and Gordian chuckled lightly. 

“That sounds like our girls.” He said, his hand rubbing up and down her side to comfort his wife when he heard the door downstairs open.

“Gordian!” Came a cry, and he moved away from his wife and their son. At the top of the stairs he could see his daughters talking to the women from earlier - the Doctor and one of her friends. The Doctor jumped up the stairs two at a time the moment she saw him, before looking a little more solemn as she stood by his side (as if she was remembering the right tone to use). “Where is he?”

Gordian stepped out of the way and gestured for the Doctor to go on ahead. She poked her head into Philip’s room before entering, seeing the young boy tucked up in bed before her and feeling her hearts ache. She was so close to figuring everything out, she was certain he’d be okay, but there was something she needed to check first and she was concerned that the immediate response from his family would be  _ less  _ than ideal.

“I’m the Doctor.” She said to the woman at the side of his bed, sitting herself down and taking in a deep breath. “I’m very,  _ very  _ sorry about your son. I promise I can fix him.” She said, Gordian returning to the room and standing in the doorway. Once he’d stopped moving, the Doctor addressed them both.

“I’m going to do something and I need you both to trust me completely.” She said. “But whatever is killing people isn’t a plague, not really, it’s the work of aliens. And I’m so sorry, but I think those aliens might have taken him away and replaced him with a copy. I know it sounds far fetched, but a baby melted in my arms earlier and turned into a puddle of silver. If it is true, he’s going to disappear and I’ll find him and bring him back to you, I just need you to trust me.”

The Doctor looked between Caelia and Gordian, their faces pale and horrified, but nodding and consenting to the Doctor’s request. She shifted a little until she was in Philip’s view, the Doctor taking one of his hands in hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Hiya.” She smiled, her eyes searching his for any sign of activity - any normal Human response to her presence - but everything seemed forced. If the real version of Philip was being used to draw from for the Qhull, then he wasn’t conscious - or he wasn’t being exposed to the same things that the Qhull were. “Just going to try something, might hurt a tick.” She said, pulling her sonic screwdriver out and tapping the button quickly to change the frequency, before pointing the sonic at the boy and watching as he began to melt away. 

Gordian and Caelia were horrified, gasping and backing away as their son became a mass of liquid pooling in the sheets, and the Doctor turned to face them as she heard muffled cries. She’d prepared them, but perhaps not quite enough. Swallowing, she pocketed her sonic and moved to stand at their side. 

“Don’t let the girls come in here.” She said. “I’ll bring your son home to you before you know it, they won’t notice a thing. Trust me. And stay safe.”

The Doctor squeezed past them to leave the room, running down the stairs quickly and grabbing Yaz’s hand. 

“Time to go, he’ll know I’m onto him before long.” She said, dragging Yaz with her as she broke out into a run once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor is a VSCO girl confirmed (and I have very little understanding of what that actually is beyond owning a hydro flask).
> 
> Oh, and enjoy the relative peace in this chapter - this is the calm before the storm. The next chapter... Get your pitchforks ready and give me a head start because it's gonna be bad.


	9. VIII.

“What do you think you’re doin’, scarin’ your old man like that?” Graham asked as he sat beside Ryan, placing his hands on his grandson’s and taking a deep breath. The Doctor would fix this, of course she would, but he didn’t often come close to losing him - and he didn’t often just sit around beside him while the Doctor worked. Sickness wasn’t the same as Cybermen, and he had no idea how long it would take the doctor to fix everything. She’d always been such a  _ last minute _ problem solver that he wasn’t sure how long Ryan would be like this. And after all those lonely months of his cancer treatment, brightened only by Grace, he knew he couldn’t leave Ryan’s side.

“I’m fine.” He said, offering Graham a smile before it broke into a cough. “Doc said she’s gonna fix me, you trust her don’t you? Cuz I trust her.”

“Course I do, son.” He said, leaning a little closer. “Easier to trust her with my life than yours. You’ve got a lot more ahead of you, an’ I don’t like seein’ you like this.” Graham shifted just a little, meeting Ryan’s gaze. “I know you don’t like hearin’ this, but I do  _ love you _ . Gettin’ to know you properly, havin’ a family of my own, it’s almost like meetin’ the Doc was fate.”

“Enough of the deathbed talk, I’m  _ fine _ .” Ryan insisted, sitting himself up despite the protests of his body. “The Doctor’s gonna fix me, she’ll fix everyone else, we’ll go back to travellin’ like normal.”

Graham let out a chuckle, Ryan’s faith wearing off on him and making him smile just a little. “About that…” He began, and he saw Ryan frown.

“Don’t--”

“I think it’s about time I stopped travellin’.” He said. “I’ve seen things,  _ brilliant things _ , but I’m gettin’ on a bit now.”

Ryan leaned forwards a little, looking at Graham closely. “It’s not--”

“Come back? No. It’s not.” He assured his grandson. “I’m just gettin’ old. I’ve seen all these wonderful things but I’ve barely seen our planet, our home. And everything I have seen has just made that seem all the more wonderful. I want to treasure our home, do somethin’ to make it better. You and Yaz can keep travellin’ with the Doc, you’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. Still young ‘n fit, don’t want to be chased by aliens dragging me along as I get slower.” He laughed. “I’ll tell the Doc once she’s fixed you, let the three of you keep travellin’. Just don’t forget about me alright? I expect you comin’ round for a visit. Not just you, you n’ Yaz, and the Doc if she fancies it. Just not allowed to break any more chairs.” He joked, and Ryan laughed with him that time.

“Course we’ll come visit you. Bring you some souvenirs too.” Ryan grinned. “Just make sure you’ve got custard creams if the Doc’s comin’.”

“I think I can sort that out.”

There was a moment of quiet between the two of them before Ryan began to cough again. When he didn’t immediately stop, Graham eased one hand around him to pat on his pack.

“Easy, son, deep breaths.” He said, trying to reassure Ryan as he continued to cough. As he continued, and Graham noticed that he was starting to panic, he shifted and spoke a little more urgently. “Somethin’ stuck in your throat?” He asked, Ryan nodding as his hands moved to grasp at his collar, as if that would help. 

“I’m gonna count to three, when I say three you cough and I’ll hit your back.” He said, placing the heel of his hand against Ryan’s back.

“One… Two…  _ Three! _ ” 

On three Ryan began to cough as forcefully as he could and Graham hit him. The sound of Ryan’s cough changed and he gave Graham a thumbs up. It was working.

“One… Two…  _ Three!” _

The second blow dislodged what had been caught in his throat, and a small metalish lump shot across the room with some force, landing on the floor with a weighty thud. Ryan lay back against the wall and caught his breath, Graham taking a moment to watch over him before looking over to what he’d coughed up.

“What the hell’ve you been eatin’, son?” He asked, moving towards it and frowning as what looked like a rock melted into some kind of silver goo. Once it pooled, it began to change again, quickly expanding and growing in size until it stood taller than Graham and mirrored Ryan exactly.

“What… What the hell  _ is  _ that?” Ryan asked breathlessly, Graham looking behind him.

“It looks like… It looks like  _ you _ .”

# # #

As soon as Clara realised she was awake her eyes burst open and she looked around. She wasn’t in the same place she’d fallen asleep in, the white room now a cramped laboratory surrounded by equipment. She could see the Master working away in the opposite corner of the room, humming to himself and oblivious that she had woken up. Or at least, he didn’t acknowledge her, she didn’t for a moment think he didn’t know. Clara could now see Junia from where she was restrained and she was relieved to see the rise and fall of the girl’s chest, knowing that she was  _ breathing  _ filled her with so much joy - and determination to get out and save her. The Doctor would be on her way by now, she was sure the woman would have figured out who was behind all this, and knowing backup was on the way made Clara just a little braver.

“What’re you doing?” She asked, blinking back some residual pain of her heart restarting.

“Why would I tell you?”

“Because you’re going to kill me anyway, I assume?” Clara replied. “You’re more trigger happy than the last version of you I saw.” She told him.

“Doesn’t seem like a reason to tell you - waste of breath if I just kill the person I’m telling.” He said. “Besides, your Doctor will be on her way soon. If you’re still alive when she’s here, you’re welcome to listen.” He said, turning around to face her. He held a syringe filled with a strange, yellow liquid that Clara didn’t dare let herself consider what it could be. 

“So what’s the plan, then? What do you need Junia for?” She asked. “She’s just a child, she’s done nothing to hurt you or anyone else, and you said  _ I  _ was your test subject.”

“Just a child?” The Master asked, a smile reaching his eyes as he laughed. “Oh, Miss Oswald, this really is going to be a rude awakening for you.” He said, taking a few steps towards her with the syringe in his hand. “You’re right though, you  _ are  _ my test subject.” 

Clara shifted a little - as much as her restraints would allow her - trying fruitlessly to get away from him as he approached. Whatever was in there, if  _ he  _ was happy about injecting her then she wasn’t particularly happy about being on the receiving end.

“Calm down, love.” He said softly. “Won’t hurt a bit.”

Clara bit down on her bottom lip, closing her eyes tightly as she felt the needle prick her skin and the liquid inject into her. After a moment her blood began to burn and she  _ screamed _ in agony, her entire body suddenly felt as if it were on fire.

“I lied.” The Master whispered, pulling the syringe out and watching Clara writhe for a few moments before turning his back to her and walking back to Junia. Clara’s screams were enough to wake the child up and she cried, the Master picking her up and holding her close to his chest. With one finger he tickled at her chin, almost  _ comforting  _ if he hadn’t been hurting her so much himself such a short time ago.

“Oh, come on,  _ you  _ made this happen.” He whispered. “It’ll be easy enough to make you forget. Starting to see why people have secret weapons though, you’ll be  _ fantastic _ .” He smirked, the child continuing to cry and making him roll his eyes. “You’ll warm up to it,  _ pet _ , promise.”

Clara screamed again, her eyes opening this time and focusing immediately on Junia. Still a child, still a helpless baby but… But something seemed different.

“What have you  _ done  _ to her?!” Clara asked, her words deteriorating into another cry of pain as she tried everything in her power to understand what was happening.

“Oh, nothing. Not really. Not  _ much _ .” The Master smirked. “It’s more a case of what has  _ she  _ done to  _ you _ ?” He laughed.

Clara didn’t know what he meant, couldn’t put the pieces together while her body was in so much pain. Her eyes closed as she gritted her teeth, breathing quickly as she tried to force herself to overcome it all.

Through it all - the fire, the burning,  _ the beating of her heart _ \- Clara could hear something.  _ Footsteps _ .  _ Whispers _ .  _ Hope _ .

# # #

“Are you sure it’s this way?” Yaz asked, running behind the Doctor as the Time Lord followed the trail her sonic had taken them on. The Magistrate’s office had a series of tunnels beneath it, everything white and pristine. The Doctor couldn’t tell if it was the Master’s TARDIS or if he’d had this  _ custom built _ .

“Positive.” She said. She didn’t mention to Yaz why she was so sure. The Master had a way of making very easy traps for the Doctor - promise information, leave himself in an easily accessible location once she had all the hints - it was enough to draw her in every time. This time was no exception, she needed to know what else she didn’t know, what else about  _ her past  _ that the Time Lord’s had hidden from her. She’d stop at nothing to find out just a hint of her past.

A scream rang out in the hallway they’d been running in and the Doctor came to a halt, her eyes widening at the sound.

“He’s got someone, then?”

“ _ Clara _ .” She whispered, looking back to Yaz. “That’s her screaming, I can tell.” She said, grabbing her by the arm and starting to run again - towards the cries of pain as fast as she could. Clara was supposed to be dead,  _ supposed to have died twice by now _ , she wouldn’t let the Universe say  _ third time lucky _ . The screaming grew louder as she ran, and she heard Clara’s voice demanding an explanation. 

“Clara!” The Doctor yelled, skidding around a corner and almost tripping herself up. “Clara, I’m coming!” 

Clara went quiet and the Doctor took out her sonic, using the scan from the Qhull to give her a direction as she continued to run through the corridors until she found the room. A small laboratory with Clara strapped to a table, a baby in the Master’s arms, and more equipment than she knew what to do with. 

“Doctor.” The Master greeted, turning to face her with a sinister smile.

“Run--” Clara panted, looking at the Doctor through half open eyes. “It has to be a trap, what else…”

“It’s not a trap.” She said, standing in the doorway as her eyes flit between the Master and Clara. “Go on then, I’ve figured out your  _ master plan _ .” She said sarcastically, raising her hands above her head. “You’ve got my attention,  _ what do you know _ ?”

“I’m not making it easy for you.” The Master quipped.

“Never did.” The Doctor said, too cheerful for the situation. “You collecting children?” She asked. “You’ve got that one, Junia - wherever you’ve put her - and the boy.”

The Master’s smile widened and he began to laugh at that. The Doctor’s face fell, fearing the worst, and she handed her sonic to Yaz - motioning for her to move to Clara while the Master was busy  _ monologuing _ .

“I did say this was going to hurt, Doctor.” The Master told her, stepping closer to the Doctor. As he approached her, Junia quietened and the Master glanced down at her - waiting for the Doctor to do the same. No more green eyes and blonde hair - now, brown hair and brown eyes, and a slightly more upturned nose. 

“Need another hint?” He asked, the Doctor taking a step back and looking up at him in horror. “I don’t think it’s quite come home yet,  _ has it _ ?”

“She’s regenerated.” The Doctor said breathlessly. 

“Yes, but  _ how?! HOW,  _ Doctor?!” The Master demanded, yelling and stamping a foot.

“You  _ made her  _ regenerate - you gave her my DNA, just like the Time Lord’s did?” She asked, eyes opening wide and her hearts beating fast.

“Nearly there.” He said wickedly. “One last  _ push  _ ought to jog your memory, don’t you think?”

With that the Master reached out with one arm, grabbing a scalpel and pushing the sharp metal against Junia’s windpipe. He watched the Doctor’s mind spiralling, her conscience and her brain trying to figure out what to do. All the Master did was laugh.

“Time to remember, Doctor.” He said, before moving his arm in one swift motion, killing her.

# # #

Her hearts pounded in her chest, feet thudding against the ground as she ran. The boundary was here - this was where all the stories led - and this was their only chance. Theta refused to let fear control her, she refused to let the memories of her husband and son paralyse her as she heard the croaks and groans of the monsters approaching. She could mourn her loved ones later, for now she simply had to get herself and her daughter to safety.

It was the only chance they had.

“Mama--”

“Shush!” Theta instructed hurriedly, the hand that didn’t hold her daughter moving to cover her mouth. Any sound that didn’t  _ need  _ to be made was only going to attract more attention, only going to make it easier for the Daleks to find them. Junia had been such a good girl - so quiet and patient and obedient even without knowing where her father or brother were - but Theta needed to be strict with her in the final few moments.

Cross the boundary and they were safe. Wherever and whenever they ended up, their lives would be ahead of them.

But tomorrow was promised to no one, and Theta had to work to get them there. 

She came to a stop in a clearing, taking in her surroundings. They’d landed on this planet after days in an unreliable ship and Theta was surprised they’d made it at all. It was beautiful, but with Daleks hot on their trail there was no time to take in the sights or the sounds, no time to appreciate the petrichor that clung to the trees that towered far above them, or the thin mist that shimmered as the suns shone down on the planet. Every moment they spent  _ enjoying  _ the world around them was one more moment handed to the Daleks. One less moment they had to escape,  _ to live _ .

“Petal…” Theta whispered to her daughter, her eyes seeking out the sadness the little girl showed and trying to provide a sense of hope. They’d spent all of Junia’s life on the run, she didn’t know  _ safety  _ and  _ security _ like Theta did, but she was determined to change that today.

“You have to be brave for me, just for a little bit longer.” She said quietly, brushing the girl’s red hair out of her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead where she noticed a shallow cut from a tree branch, using her own regenerative energy to tend to her daughter’s discomfort. Theta could see the warmth relaxing the girl in her arms and felt the girl shifting closer, her own little arms wrapping around her mother’s neck. 

“We’ll be safe soon, petal, I promise.” 

The clearing was empty, and she could barely hear the distance screeching of the Daleks, so Theta continued on slowly through the strange world, her raggedy clothes catching on vines and thorns from all angles. Years of running through space, hiding from these genocidal machines, would soon be over.

She could hear the whispers, the voices of those that had already crossed calling to her. The boundary was nearby, close to her and her daughter, and they were going to live. For the first time since she had seen her own parents executed before her, Theta believed that she would live. 

Theta closed her eyes, allowing her mind to reach out to connect with the boundary and to connect with it mentally, strengthening her own thought process with the hopes she held for Junia’s future. She didn’t know where this step would take them except that it would be safe, but she hoped that Junia’s future would be bright: that she would be permitted to experience a childhood full of joy and laughter; that she could go to a school and be educated; that she could follow her heart to be who she wanted to be, do what she wanted to do and love who she wanted to love. The light that Theta’s hearts were filled with guided her through the winding forest, showing her a clear path to the boundary.

The whispers became roars, beckoning them to move faster before the Daleks found them, and Theta complied. She broke out into a run once more, spurred on by the tight hold her daughter had on her.

She saw the boundary.

Their long journey had come to an end.

Except she saw something else there, too.

“Ex---”

“No…” Theta whispered. It must’ve been dormant, a guard of some kind, one that was unaware that their kind were to be captured for their DNA to be extracted - and in a way Theta was relieved that they would at least be killed if this was where everything ended. She wasn’t going to die without a fight, and she  _ certainly  _ wouldn’t let her daughter die. 

“Exter---”

“Junia, I love you so very much.” She said hurriedly, running to shelter behind a tree and pulling back from the girl just a little. Theta swallowed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before placing her on the ground and crouching before her to speak. “And I will do everything to keep you safe, understand? I know you miss your father and your brother, they’re waiting for you on the other side of that boundary, but that thing between us and there…  _ It wants to hurt you _ . I’m going to distract it, Junia, and when I do I need you to run through - do you understand?”

“I understand.” She nodded. “I love you too, mama.”

“I know.” Theta whispered, pulling her daughter close and burying her head into the little girl’s shoulder for a moment as she closed her eyes and forced the sour taste of the lies to leave her mouth. Whatever it took to protect her,  _ whatever gave her a chance _ , that was what mattered right now.

“I love you.” She said, pulling away and placing one last kiss against her hair as she stepped out from behind the tree, raising her arms and facing the Dalek with a bravery that she wasn’t sure was hers.

The Dalek was old, and Theta took her time in approaching it slowly. She tilted her head to look down the vine covered eyestalk, red hair falling over her dirt covered face as she did. Her boots squelched against the wet ground and Theta classed that as an advantage - any other Daleks would have trouble making it across the swamp to block the boundary off. Perhaps this was why this one lay dormant for so long.

“Extermin---  _ Extermin--- _ ”

“Now, Junia!” Theta yelled. “Run!” She shouted, and the little girl appeared from behind the tree. Theta’s hearts soared as she saw the infant running behind the Dalek, her little feet splashing in the puddles of mud on the ground and her old scarf trailing along behind her. It didn’t matter now, none of it did. She was just a few paces from the boundary when--

“Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!”

A company of Daleks rounded the clearing, their mechanical screams alive in a cacophony of horrors. Theta leapt from where she stood, forgetting about the half dead machine that lay rotting in the swamp as she ran towards the boundary, towards her daughter.

“JUNIA!” She cried out, but even as she did she  _ knew  _ it was helpless. She saw the blaster bolts leave the Daleks and watched as not one, not two, but three blasts hit her daughter in perfect synchronisation. “No!” She screamed, feet trying to catch up with her mind as she ran to cover the distance between them. She was too young, she didn’t  _ deserve  _ this pain so early in her life, and she deserved at the very least to have her mother by her side to hold her hand and talk her through the process as it happened.

Junia fell forward as she was shot, her body within the reaches of the boundary’s power. As Theta saw the bright gold flames flickering at the tips of her tiny fingers, she saw the boundary encompass her. She was pulled in, sucked through the wormhole to a different part of the Universe. In an instant, she was away from the Daleks, she was  _ safe _ .

But she was alone.

The boundary flickered and Theta’s hearts froze, watching the image of the world before her change. The rolling green fields and countryside were replaced with a dull orange rock, a world completely different to the one her daughter had been transported to.

She watched on in shock and horror, her world crumbling before her as her daughter was stolen from her by the cruelty of the Galaxy. Junia, her poor daughter, orphaned across the stars and in unimaginable pain.

Theta felt the bolt hit her spine and stumbled forwards in pain. While the world around her faded she could still hear the screams of the Daleks approaching, trying to reach her and take her as her own body began to change. Years of running, decades of lost time, families and lovers… Was this how it all ended?

She heard the next cry of  _ exterminate  _ ringing through the air, but the world around her was warped and she was suddenly alone, surrounded by rocks, and her body was on fire.

Theta had escaped the Daleks. She had found a new world. She had  _ hope  _ that she could find her daughter safe and well.

Her body burst into flames. 

She was left alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... Sorry...
> 
> Yell at me in the comments or find me on Tumblr at queermoonie to personally threaten me!


	10. IX.

“You see now, Doctor?” The Master laughed, Junia’s regeneration beginning to take place. Her fingers and toes were golden and hot, and the Doctor’s horrified face only served to encourage him further.

“My…  _ My daughter _ .” The Doctor said breathlessly, the memories coming back like a tsunami. Her hand was on the surface beside her as she tried to keep herself standing, tried to stop her mind from focusing on the past but she couldn’t.  _ How much had been taken from her? How many times? _ “Give me…  _ Please _ \---”

“I have what I want from her,  _ the DNA of your people _ , I don’t need her anymore.” He gloated, the little girl too badly injured to cry. Her eyes were wide and afraid, flitting around the room for some kind of understanding but none was given to her. The Master held her close to his chest with one hand, the scalpel still in the other - now pointing directly at her hearts.

“Master,  _ please _ .” The Doctor begged, letting her legs buckle at her knees. What could she do? He held all the cards - if she jumped forward he’d plunge the scalpel into her chest faster than she could stop him. The Doctor had no idea how long she’d lived, how many lifetimes she’d had, but this… “She’s a child. You said it yourself, you  _ have  _ what you want. Give her to me and do whatever you want.  _ Please _ , Master.”

The Master watched on with a smirk on his face. Seeing the Doctor brought to her knees - literally and figuratively - made his hearts beat just a little faster. He was giddy with excitement and licked his lips, leaning forwards just a little.

“Never.” He whispered, his grip tightening on scalpel and--

He dropped to the floor. Yaz ran forwards and caught Junia before she hit, before placing the girl gently on the ground and taking a few nervous steps back. The golden energy coming from her limbs was enough to frighten the young police woman. She glanced back to Clara, who was frozen in place beside the operating table she’d been strapped to, using all her strength to keep herself standing after the pain the Master had subjected her to. The Doctor’s eyes glanced over the scene, trying to work out what had happened. Yaz, the sonic,  _ she’d freed Clara _ , and Clara had… Clara had…

“Your pets have pretty good aim.” The Master snarled from where he lay, a surgical knife in his neck. It had clearly cut deep and caught something important, the Doctor couldn’t imagine a minor injury would have kept him from killing Junia. Taking a breath she looked at the little girl and crawled a few paces towards her, remaining on her knees as she took the girl into her arms and found her eyes. She could see the girl’s bottom lip quivering and her eyes glassy and afraid. The Doctor couldn’t stop her from regenerating now, she couldn’t ease the pain, but she could do what she always should have been able to do.

She could be her mother.

“It’s okay, Junia,  _ petal _ , it’s okay.” She soothed, fingers running through her dark hair, shushing the girl gently. “You’re safe,  _ I’m here _ , I’m never going to go away again.” And even if she did - if the Universe forced them apart so cruelly once more. Well, surely she’d proved that she always found her way back home.

Junia was young. While they’d been split apart at the same time the Doctor had spent thousands of years travelling and Junia had only just come through the boundary, she was barely a few months older than when the Doctor had last seen her, and her regeneration reflected that. There was no violence, no explosive burst of energy that she had experienced before herself, just a constant, dull burning. Every cell in Junia’s body died and that took  _ time _ , and it  _ hurt _ , but the Doctor coaxed her through it. She paid no attention to her surroundings as she focused on comforting her daughter, brown hair replaced with a familiar red and her eyes turning a gentle hazel.

Everything about Junia’s new face was so soft, so rounded, so perfectly innocent. Moulded by the utter love felt by the woman holding her. 

The glow of regeneration energy began to die down and the Doctor smiled through soft tears, slowly pulling the girl to her chest and holding her tight against her, tiny fingers reaching out to pull at the Doctor’s hair with one hand, the other nipping insecurely at her neck for comfort.

“It’s okay,  _ it’s okay, you’re home.  _ I told you, I promised didn’t I?  _ You’re home, Junia. _ ”

“Doctor.” 

Yaz’s voice pulled her out of her trance, crouching beside the Doctor with one hand on her shoulder. The Time Lord turned to look at her, not caring for the tears streaming down her cheeks. 

“Are you both… Okay?” She asked.

“We’re fine, she’s just had a bit of a hard day - haven’t you petal?” The Doctor asked, kissing the little girl’s hair and taking a deep, shaky breath as she looked back to Yaz. “She’s my daughter, from a very long time ago.”

“The Master’s gone.” Clara’s voice came from across the room and the Doctor and Yaz turned to face her. “We have to find him, have to  _ stop him _ .”

“You’ve already stopped him, Clara.” The Doctor said, looking at her with a smile. The game was up,  _ she knew that was her Clara _ , but neither of them were able to address the point. The Doctor was too stuck in her thoughts, trapped in relief and anguish and fatigue, and Clara was still trying to fight away the lasting sparks of pain from whatever the Master had done to her. It was a conversation for later, for when they were all safe and home.

“The Qhull.” Yaz said, trying to prompt some urgency into the Doctor. “It’s still got Ryan. The Master’s gone but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped.”

_ It worked _ . Still holding Junia close she got to her feet, her mind returning to the present and focusing back on the to-do list at hand. “Right, Philip has to be here somewhere. Yaz?” She nodded to her. “Go see if you can find him, make sure he’s unharmed, bring him back to us.”

Yaz nodded, turning her back on the Doctor and starting her search from a door at the back of the room. The Doctor made her way to Clara, a hand resting on her shoulder.

“What did he do to you?” She asked gently, her eyes searching the younger woman’s face.

“Nothing. Nothing we have time to talk about now, anyway.” She said, her gaze locked on the ground for a few moments before she dared to look the Doctor in the eye. The Time Lord gave her a grin when she did, and Clara smiled back.

“My Impossible Girl.” She said fondly. “ _ My Clara _ , I’ve missed you.”

“You remember me then, old man?” She teased, both her and the Doctor laughing together for a moment, enjoying each other’s company before returning to the task at hand.

“The Qhull hivemind is here.” The Doctor said, turning on one foot and taking her sonic from her pocket with one hand, carefully balancing Junia as she began to sonic the room. “The Master has promised them something,  _ probably  _ this planet, seems to be his speciality even though it’s not really his to give them. Whatever he’s done won’t have been nice, or fair.”

“So how’re you gonna fix it?” Clara asked. Oh, she’d  _ missed  _ this.

“Art of the deal, Ms Oswald. Didn’t your Prime Minister ever teach you anything?” The Doctor scoffed.

“Didn’t vote for him.” Clara shrugged. “And you’re thinking of Donald Trump.”

“He Ed Sheeran’s pal?” The Doctor asked with a smile.

“Bezzie mates.” Clara said with a wink. The sonic buzzed in the Doctor’s hand and Clara followed where it was pointing, opening two cabinet doors to find the current home of the Qhull.

The hivemind, the central nervous system for the Qhull, was reduced to almost nothing. A mass of silvery liquid in the bottom of a jar filled with conductors - an electrical circuit with the Qhull’s mind a perfect conductor.

“He  _ tortured  _ this thing into obeying him.” Clara said, taking a step back.

“Wish I could say I was surprised.” The Doctor said, pocketing her screwdriver and clearing her throat as she straightened her back. “Hello.” She said, her tone much more friendly and now directed towards the hivemind, rather than to Clara. “I’m the Doctor. I’m here to help.” She smiled. “I don’t know if you’re capable of doing it while he’s done this to you, but d’you think you could take on a form a little easier to communicate with? Make this whole conversation a  _ lot  _ less one sided.” The Doctor said.

There was a momentary pause, before a pool of silver goo began to collect from around the room at the Doctor’s feet - every sample that the Master had experimented on, every individual part of this creature came together and morphed slowly into the form of a person. Without someone to copy from identically the Qhull remained silver and the person, while clearly taking the shape of a person, had no identifiable features.

“That’ll work.” The Doctor smiled. “I’m very,  _ very  _ sorry for what he put you through. I know who you are, what you are, and I know what happened to your planet.” She said, sounding sorry as she spoke. “I was like you once, my home was destroyed and I ran. I had a family, though I don’t remember all of them. The person that captured me wiped my memories and took that from me, but I was running and searching for a place to call home just like you are. I don’t know what the Master took from you, but I want to help make things right. I need you to stop whatever he’s asked you to do to these people first, they’re my friends and they’ve done  _ nothing  _ to hurt you.” The Doctor said.

“We have not harmed these people.” The Qhull said. It’s voice was as metallic as the Doctor expected it to be, and she continued.

“You might not’ve intended to, but humans aren’t made of the strongest stuff. Not physically,  _ anyway _ . What you’re made of, when you’ve been reading their genetic code and creating these  _ copies  _ that the Master must’ve asked you for, that’s been poisoning them. It’s been killing them. And that’s not your fault, but it has to stop.” 

“Doctor, I’ve found him!” Yaz’s voice called from a distance, and the Doctor’s head turned around for a moment to listen in the direction she was calling from. She couldn’t sense any danger, so she continued.

“This is my daughter.” The Doctor said, raising Junia up just a little in her arms for the Qhull to observe. “And I would do  _ anything  _ it required to keep her safe, even if it wasn’t the most morally right thing to do. I know you act as a group, that your desire to keep yourselves and each other alive supersedes everything else, but I can find you an uninhabited planet to make your own - somewhere you don’t have to hurt anyone else to carry on living. You deserve to continue your life, but so do these people. So, what do you say?”

The Doctor smiled hopefully as the hivemind took a moment to consider, reaching out to the creatures that existed beyond the laboratory before responding.

“You will help us.” The Qhull said. “You will find us a home, we will come peacefully.”

The Doctor’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled a little wider, nodding. “Of course.” She said, turning to Clara and handing her Junia carefully before taking several steps towards the hivemind. “You’ll have to trust me first. I need to disconnect you from this circuit so you aren’t hurting anymore. Do you trust me?”

“We trust you, Doctor.” The Qhull replied in an instant, and the Doctor smiled again.

“Thank you.” She said, and as carefully and gently as she could, she used her sonic to provide a small burst and temporarily render the mind unconscious. The Qhull that had taken humanoid form melted as the hivemind’s connection severed.

“Doctor!” Yaz said, bursting into the room with little Philip in her arms. He clung to her desperately, his hands wrapped around her neck. 

“C’mere Yaz, can’t lift this on my own.” The Doctor said. Yaz was quick to place the boy down on the floor and make her way to the Doctor’s side, with Philip immediately recognising Clara as the girl that had lived in their city and provided comfort to people for months. A friendly face. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, Clara running her fingers through his hair as comfortingly as she could.

Yaz stood opposite the Doctor, pulling connecting wires out of the jar as instructed before she helped the Doctor to lift it from where it sat - breaking the circuit, preventing any more electrical surges from torturing the Qhull any further.

“What do we do?” Yaz asked, looking at the Doctor.

“We wait, when it wakes up we take it back to the TARDIS and find it a new home.”

“What about Philip?” Clara asked.

“And Ryan?” Yaz added.

“And everyone else in the city that’s ill? There shouldn’t be a plague now, we can’t let them all die. It would change history.” Clara finished.

“I can provide medicine, just enough to save those people, but not a drop to spare. We can’t leave them with any kind of advanced medical care,  _ that  _ would change history too.”

“I know where all the sick are.” Clara said. “I’ve been visiting them, I kept a record.”

The Doctor smiled at Clara as she said that, looking fondly at the Impossible Girl as she cradled her daughter like she was pure gold.

“ _ Brilliant _ .”

# # # 

Ryan and Graham stared at Ryan - the perfect replica of him that had emerged from seemingly nothing. It stood there, observing them,  _ waiting for orders _ .

“What’s it doin’?” Graham asked.

“How the hell do you think I’m gonna know?!” Ryan exclaimed, sitting up a little further. 

“Well it looks just like you.”

“Doesn’t mean I know what it’s thinkin’. Hardly know what  _ I’m  _ thinkin’ half the time.”

The two of them watched as the replica remained perfectly still, twitching its head to the side once as if in thought. 

“Is it gonna attack us?” Graham asked, watching in case it moved again.

“I don’t--”

Before Ryan could finish, the version of him began to melt. Dripping first from its fingertips before all colour drained from it, and it pooled on the floor in almost an instant - not a drop splashing. The two of them sat in silence, staring at the space the figure had once occupied.

“The Doc?” Graham asked, and Ryan nodded - coughing a little more gently this time. Graham turned to him and smiled gently, patting his shoulder. 

“She’ll be on her way back then. I’ll go get her to take a look at you.”

# # #

The TARDIS console room was filled with noise. The Doctor had taken Junia as soon as she could, not wanting to let go of her daughter again if she could help it, and Clara had carried Philip all the way back. He was still sick and needed medical attention, but he had stopped clinging to her with the same fear he had originally held her in. Yaz walked with the Qhull, the three of them walking in such a manner so as to attract as little attention as possible to themselves and the alien being they escorted through the city. Together, back in the TARDIS, the Doctor had been quick to begin searching the TARDIS’ databanks for a suitable planet to home to Qhull on when Graham came into the console room.

“Doc!” He jumped, pointing to the Qhull, and the silver liquid from the floor of Ryan’s room came shooting past his feet. It collided with the leg of the Qhull, rippling along the outer shell before merging perfectly. 

“It’s fine.” The Doctor said, Graham’s eyes moving from the Qhull to Clara.

“Wait, she’s not--”

“No, the Qhull shapeshift. The replica of her died.” She said, and Clara looked at the Doctor. She couldn’t see the Time Lord’s face but she could hear her tensing up as she spoke those words, and Graham saw the way that Clara looked at her. There was an understanding, something far deeper than any of them seemed to share with the Doctor.

“But I’m still alive.” Clara said. “Thanks to you.”

Graham watched the Doctor smile a little at that, but she said nothing except-

“Bingo!” She grinned, turning around to Clara. “You’ve got a TARDIS, you look like you’ve aged a few hundred years so you’ll know your way around, right?”

Clara was almost offended by the Doctor’s words, but she nodded.

“Brilliant, can you go ask her very nicely for however much medicine you need for the city - and then some for Ryan, too? I’m taking our friends here to their new home.” The Doctor smiled. 

“Come on, Graham.” Clara said, still holding Philip as she began to walk. “You can take what you need for Ryan, get him on the mend before too much longer.” She said, and the pair of them disappeared inside of the TARDIS.

The Doctor immediately began piloting the TARDIS with the coordinates the ship provided, taking her time for once. Junia was young, but the Doctor quietly explained each and every control to her. Yaz smiled at the scene. Despite the Doctor being so alien, she seemed so  _ normal  _ in that moment. She was a mother, she was  _ happy _ , and while her earlier conversation with Ryan had been enough to put her immediate thoughts to rest she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter at the sight. There was a pit in her stomach and she knew that the yearning for the Doctor wasn’t going to go away, and it wouldn’t be nice when it did, but for now she wanted to enjoy how  _ happy  _ she was around the Doctor. There was no harm in that, right?

The TARDIS landed safely, almost without Yaz noticing and she couldn’t tell if it was because she was so focused on the Doctor or if because she suddenly had a child to care for, she was being more careful. Either way, Yaz gave the Doctor a smile.

“Right this way.” The Time Lord said, gesturing for the Qhull to leave the TARDIS in front of them. The Doctor followed close behind and Yaz at her side, the doors opening to reveal a beautiful world. It was peaceful, untouched by any kind of civilisation, but conducive to sustaining the Qhull and their way of living.

“You’ll be free here.” The Doctor said, watching as the humanoid form took in its surroundings. Orange trees towered high into the green sky, twin suns on the horizon setting as a cool breeze blew. Animals, insects,  _ life  _ existed on the planet but not quite reaching a level of sentience of self awareness. There was balance, and the Qhull could live and thrive there.

“Thank you, Doctor.” The Qhull said, turning to face her and Yaz. “We are grateful for the kindness you have shown our species. We will not forget what we owe you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” The Doctor said, watching as the Qhull broke apart from its humanoid form and began to move away from the TARDIS - the silver glistening in the light as they moved. They would be safe, free, able to rebuild what they once had here. Yaz turned to look at the Doctor, glad to see a genuine happiness on her face. After she’d snapped before Yaz had truly wondered if it would ever return. 

“Save the city?” Yaz asked the Doctor, who in turn looked down to Junia.

“What d’you say, petal? Fancy saving your first city with your mum?” She asked, her free hand moving to cup the infant’s cheek, and she watched as the girl squirmed happily in her arms.

“Think that’s a yes.” The Doctor said, smiling. “Let’s go save the city.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Too impatient to stick to an upload schedule because I'm excited about starting to post the next fic in the series? Noooooo....
> 
> That said, I'll be posting the epilogue sometime tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!


	11. Epilogue.

The Doctor watched on from the doors of the TARDIS as Clara knocked on the door of Philip’s family home. There were a few moments before the door opened, and when it did Philip jumped for joy - his arms reaching above his head with all the enthusiasm and energy in the world now that he had been healed. The medicine had cured him and every other sick member of the city from the disease, and Clara had checked, double checked, and checked her records again. No one had to die unnecessarily, but she couldn’t leave any leftovers with them just in case.

Gordian and Caelia were quick to respond - Caelia picking Philip up into her arms and holding him close as Gordian pulled Clara in for a hug. Even from this distance, the Doctor could read the thousands of thank yous that left his lips in quick succession. She turned back to look into the TARDIS where Graham held Junia and Yaz and Ryan entertained her with shadow puppets projected onto the ceiling. Her life wasn’t something that she’d expected a child to be involved in again, let alone  _ her  _ child, but she couldn’t be happier.

As the door closed and Clara began to walk back to her, the Doctor closed the door to her TARDIS and walked to meet her half way - the two of them standing on the bridge looking over the river. The perfect place to tell Clara something her previous two faces couldn’t.

“How’s Junia?” Clara asked. “I didn’t know you had a child. At least, not anymore.”

“She’s fine, the fam’re lookin’ after her.” She said. “It’s a long story.”

“You should tell me sometime.”

“I think I’d like that.” The Doctor smiled, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. She rested her arms against the side of the bridge and looked out down the river, Clara following suit and resting herself next to the Time Lord - her arm brushing the Doctor’s quite deliberately. After another moment of silence, she spoke.

“You’ll be happy with them, then? With Junia?”

Oh. The Doctor’s face fell and she swallowed. Clara was setting up for a goodbye, and while she knew that was always a possibility she’d never really given it much thought. She was so happy to have finally found Clara once more, she hadn’t really considered what would happen if Clara wanted to continue living her own life. She deserved it, after all.

“Yeah, course, love my fam.” She said. “And Junia… I’d forgotten her completely,  _ part of the long story _ , had my life wiped from my own memory.” She said offhandedly. “But now I get to be her mother, I get to have a family. A fam  _ and  _ a family, who’d’ve thought I’d be so lucky?” She laughed, and Clara followed suit (though her laugh wasn’t quite as loud).

“I’m glad to hear it.” She said, swallowing. Surely with her friends and her daughter, there was no place for her at the Doctor’s side as well. This was a goodbye, Clara was certain of it, and while she’d tried to keep her true identity hidden from the Doctor she hadn’t prepared for just how much saying goodbye would hurt.

“I’ll see you round, Doctor.” She said, standing up and offering the Time Lord a gentle smile. “If you ever need a hand with anything, let me know. Five hundred years of travelling, I think I’ve become a bit of a dab hand at saving the world myself.” She smiled.

“Clara?” The Doctor said, reaching out and grabbing her hand tightly. She would let her go, she promised herself that, but not yet. “I just wanted to say something - might take a sec though. I’m brilliant but sometimes it’s a bit harder to find the right words.” She said, and Clara nodded. The Doctor dropped her hand and took a deep breath, and Clara waited patiently. She had all the time in the world for the Doctor.

“My last two faces weren’t the best at this.” The Doctor said, letting out a nervous laugh that took even  _ her  _ by surprise. “Emotions, words, they’re not the sort of things you’d think  _ I  _ would struggle with but… Clara I’m not sure there’s any words in the Universe to say what I want to say to you.” She said. 

Clara’s expression changed when she realised what the Doctor was hinting at. First her brows furrowed and her eyes met the Doctor’s, searching for anything that could mean she was wrong in her assumptions, but she found nothing but a promise of the truth. So Clara took a chance, her hand reaching for the Doctor’s and looping their fingers together with a smile.

“So show me.” She said softly, eyes flickering down to the Doctor’s lips then back to her eyes. “ _ Please _ .”

“Close your eyes.” The Doctor instructed gently, and as Clara did as she was told the Doctor reached out with her free hand to cup her cheek, thumb gently tracing over her soft skin and committing her face to memory. She hadn’t changed a bit in those five hundred years. With that thought in her mind the Doctor leaned forward and leaned down just a little, before her lips grazed ever so slightly against Clara’s. There was a moment of hesitation, as if Clara might reject her, but the Time Lord felt Clara squeeze her hand just a little bit tighter and it emboldened the Doctor to seal their kiss. She closed her own eyes, focusing on pushing her unbridled compassion, respect, admiration and  _ love _ silently towards Clara. She hadn’t let herself fall for a Human in such a long time, but Clara was not just a Human - and even if she had been, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to stop herself from falling. 

The Doctor pulled back after a moment, the kiss too short for Clara’s liking, and they both opened their eyes to look at each other. The Doctor watched Clara carefully, seeing the way she smiled and finding herself reassured that she hadn’t made a horrible mistake.

“Sorry, first time for this face.” She explained, and Clara simply laughed at the Doctor’s remark.

“It’s fine. I’ve been told I’m an  _ excellent  _ teacher.” She said, grinning from ear to ear as she let go of the Doctor’s hand - both hands reaching for the Doctor’s cheeks and holding her still as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her. Unlike the Doctor, she had had  _ plenty  _ of practice kissing in her face, and wasn’t afraid to kiss a little deeper. The Doctor’s hands flailed as she felt Clara’s tongue parting her lips, before they settled on her waist and pulled her closer. She felt whole with Clara beneath her fingers, kissing her back longingly. She’d waited too long for this, they both had, and she wanted to cherish every moment she could.

While this kiss lasted longer, it too eventually broke apart and the Doctor focused on her breathing, smiling down at Clara in a way not too dissimilar than the first face she had met.

“You’ll take care of yourself, won’t you?” She asked quietly, and Clara forced herself not to let her face fall. She may not have heard the words she’d always wanted to hear, but she had confirmation enough. Clara knew she loved the Doctor, and now she knew that the Doctor - even after all these years - still loved her back.

“Of course.” She smiled sadly, taking in a breath. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“I will.” The Doctor said, the same sadness evident in her eyes. “Thank you, Clara.  _ For making me feel special. _ ”

Clara couldn’t help but chuckle to herself lightly. 

“Thank you for exactly the same.”

Neither of them seemed to want to say goodbye, but the Doctor was the first to break. She turned away, taking a few steps before entering the TARDIS and closing the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed she took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling and composing herself. Her hearts would never truly leave Clara Oswald, even if  _ physically  _ she had to.

The walk up to the console felt lonely, even with her friends and Junia standing there watching her. She began to fiddle with a few switches that, to her knowledge, did absolutely nothing. Something, somewhere, went  _ ding!  _ and a custard cream popped out, but she went about her actions silently and unenthusiastically.

“Where’s Clara?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, she’s gone.” The Doctor said, and the three looked at each other in a moment of silence.

“What d’ya mean, she’s gone?” Graham asked.

“She’s back off to her own TARDIS, going about her own life.”

“Did you ask her to come?” Yaz asked.

“Why would I do that?” The Doctor replied, finally looking at the three of them. Something in their eyes was knowing - it saw through her (admittedly awful) disguise and she straightened, raising an eyebrow at them. “Well?”

“We’re not blind, Doc.” Graham said.

“Or deaf.” Ryan added. “You  _ like  _ her. Why wouldn’t you ask her to come with us?”

“What if she said no?” The Doctor asked, showing a side of herself that the three had never seen before. Insecurity - that, despite everything, she might not be enough for the one person that was everything to her.

“D’you really think she’ll say no?” Yaz asked, and the TARDIS hummed at that. The Doctor spun on her heels and looked up at the ship.

“Oi! Who’s side are you on?” She asked, with the ship responding in her own way. It only took a moment of thought before the Doctor ran back to the doors, pulling them open and squinting against the bright light outside.

“Clara?” The Doctor called to her, looking to where she still stood at the river. Clara turned around,  _ her Impossible Girl _ , and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Fancy a trip? For old times’ sake?” She asked.

“One trip won’t hurt, right?” Clara called back, and the Doctor shrugged.

“Has that ever stopped us before?”

Clara laughed at her reply, her feet quickly carrying her towards the TARDIS. She stopped just outside the door, her fingers reaching for the Doctor’s and she swallowed as she brushed them against each other.

“You’re sure?” She asked, hesitating only out of self preservation. She’d said goodbye to the Doctor too many times - she wasn’t ready to do it again.

“Positive.” The Doctor smiled, and Clara broke out into a grin.

“Well then…” She said, stepping past the Doctor and onto the TARDIS. She looked around, letting herself take time to appreciate the new layout - the different colours and sounds and shapes that surrounded her, how everything was so different yet so familiar. It was like coming home after a very,  _ very  _ long time away. She glanced at Yaz, Ryan and Graham who smiled and waved at her, and Graham took one of Junia’s wrists gently between his fingers to make it look like she waved too.

“Geronimo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit guys, I actually finished a fic! I hope you enjoyed - thank you so much to everyone that's left kudos and comments along the way! I'll be posting the first "Between the Adventures" one-shot during the week, before picking up with the next fic in the series: The Tribes of Vex 7. Give me a follow on tumblr @ queermoonie to know when it starts being posted! I'm very excited for the next fic and for the "arc" of my mini-series to start taking shape...

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a kudos or a comment below, let me know what you're enjoying and what you'd like to see more of. I love feedback (and it keeps me writing, I crave instant gratification!!) so please do consider saying hello :)


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